The social media, online and digital abuse and harassment of social workers, probation officers and social work students in Ireland: A national survey
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Published Version
Date
2024-06-08
Authors
Burns, Kenneth
Halvey, Olwen
Ó Súilleabháin, Fiachra
O’Callaghan, Elaine
Coelho, Gabriel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Published Version
Abstract
An estimated five billion people use social media globally. The digital world enables networking and community-building beyond geographical and jurisdictional boundaries, it can facilitate information-sharing and knowledge development, and facilitates speedy access and communications links. On the other hand, digital and social media platforms can also be sources and purveyors of hurt, discrimination, defamation, hatred, abuse, cyberbullying and disinformation. Their increased usage within professional practice has become a nascent area for scholarly debate and research. Our scoping literature search indicated that there are very few studies examining this issue within the profession. This article seeks to address a considerable gap in the research by reporting the findings from an exploratory study in Ireland focusing on social workers, probation officers and social work students. Three hundred seventy-nine participants completed an online survey on their experiences of using social media, with eighty-three (21.9 per cent) participants indicating that they had experienced online and digital abuse and harassment. Facebook, Twitter (now X), and email were the top three sources of abuse and harassment by platform.
Description
Keywords
Cyberbullying , Digital social work , Online abuse and harassment , Probation , Social media , Workplace violence , Introduction
Citation
Burns, K., Halvey, O., Ó Súilleabháin, F., O’Callaghan, E. and Coelho, G. (2024) 'The social media, online and digital abuse and harassment of social workers, probation officers and social work students in Ireland: A national survey', The British Journal of Social Work, bcae091 (21pp). https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcae091