To Share or Not to Share : A study on social workers' attitudes towards social media

Spets, A. To share or not to share. A study on social workers’ attitudes towards social media. Degree project in Social work 15/30 credits. Malmö University: Faculty of Health and Society, Department of Social work, 2022. There is an increased use of social media for both private and professional purposes, where mixing private content with professional connections has become a commonality. This has led me to question what effect this bears on social workers’ ability to use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of social workers’ attitudes towards social media by studying their experiences in using social media platforms. To gain this knowledge this study is carried out by using a qualitative method while conducting six interviews with social workers who are frequent users of social media. The result of this study reflects the impact the professional role has on the informants’ private use of said platforms and thus shows the complexity of maintaining boundaries between privacy and the professional life of a social worker. The result is presented in the following themes: social media, contacts, posts and content, experiences and miscellaneous. All of which leads to the conclusion that social workers are affected by the demands of the profession regardless of to which extent (due to individuality)