3 comments

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  Tim Davies

  10 months ago

  The 'ban it' response is really not the way to go.
  
  But staff do need guidance and support in knowing when and /how/ they should and shouldn't use social network sites.
  
  For an adequately trained youth worker who has an established professional relationship with young people - there shouldn't be a problem with them visiting a young persons house to hand deliver an invite to an event, or even to meet them there or in a coffee shop in their estate for a conversation.
  
  There may well be something unprofessional about turning up there in a car with swear-word laden music blaring from the stereo and wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a photo of a recent drunken night out.
  
  In the same way - contacting young people through social network sites - and being available for young people to contact you through social network sites is not, per se, unprofessional, innappropriate or problematic. /But/, staff do need to think carefully about the information they share with young people through these sites - and whether they are using them just as a communications tool - or are using wider features of them which could lead to inappropriate information being shared.
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  Ade Sofola

  10 months ago

  I think I agree with tim that a total ban is not the right way to go. It feels like a disproprionate response to a relatively small risk. I think teachers, youth workers and other professionals working with young people need to remember to be as transparent in their conversations with young people online as they are offline. Most practioners are aware of guidelines about ensuring things happen in a public space rather than taking very young people off on their own to a dark corner somewhere so the same principle can be applied online - talk on your wall where possible so that the level of intimacy remains appopriate and with regards to your private life share what you think is approriate that is what the privacy settings are there for surely? I think it is also useful to set up a space for the project for young people to join become friends with so that the line between work and individual is clear - hope that ramble makes sense LOL
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  mas

  10 months ago

  I can't see that banning it would better protect young people - I think in that CNN article there was a bit of a suggestion that social networking might 'cause' inappropriate relationships but as somebody points out in the interview the 'bad' people will do whatever it takes - which no doubt would include ignoring and finishing ways to bypass a ban.
  
  I agree with your scenario Tim - except that in such a case it would generally be very clear that the professional was working, and also very clear what guidelines they had to work under - everyone - employer, employee, young person, parents would understand that the professional was working no matter how informal the nature.
  
  Online its not that simple - you're sent a message at midnight and you happen to be online, so you reply - but who knows you're working?
  
  There are further things such as say you'd been out drinking or drank a few glasses of wine at home and happen to go online - if you reply to messages on your facebook wall then are you fit to work?
  
  The public space thing you mention Ade is good practice in the real world, but again not so clear online. Is your facebook profile in the public domain? Who can delete things from your wall?
  
  I agree its about having transparent conversations. I wonder though whether in terms of developing guidance and policies its about adapting 'real world' ones to fit in, or is it about saying well actually the interaction on the web is different and will need a completely new approach? For example maybe there are no fixed working hours anymore - perhaps professionals on the web don't have the luxury of 'taking off the uniform' and are 'at work' whenever they're online?
  
  Think I'm gonna go round in circles on this one for a bit!
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