by Alexis Speck Glennon, DSW, LCSW-R
The digital panorama is ever-changing and evolving at a fast fee. Social employees are on the entrance traces of digital areas as we observe and course of with individuals about their digital experiences. Though social employees have a singular perspective constructed on trusting relationships, they typically really feel overwhelmed with know-how. In a lot of my digital literacy coaching classes, social employees categorical these emotions and state that they need assistance understanding social media and the latest know-how. And I inform them that you just do not need to be a tech professional, however you need to stay curious and ask deep questions on what shoppers do on-line. We’re practitioners who embrace the person-in-environment perspective, and digital environments are a part of this angle.
To assist create a framework for social employees in hopes of serving to lower the sentiments of being overwhelmed, we will use two frameworks which can be already essential to our work.
Cultural Humility
Cultural humility is an idea coined by Tervalon and Murray-Garcia in 1998. It refers back to the lifelong dedication to self-evaluation, self-criticism, ongoing studying, and humility associated to others’ cultural identities to enhance relationships. This method to care requires social employees to be open to studying from their shoppers in addition to being conscious of how their very own tradition and experiences affect views, reactions, and responses. Due to this fact, as we develop into digital areas with shoppers, we’re dedicated to studying and being open to understanding individuals’s digital experiences whereas persevering with to be self-reflective and consider our personal countertransference and transference.
Embracing cultural humility in shoppers’ digital experiences permits social employees to collaborate with shoppers as they journey by way of digital areas. Embracing this method makes room to discover digital use and experiences by way of the biopsychosocial-digital method authentically.
Biopsychosocial-Digital Mannequin
Alireza Ahmandvand created the biopsychosocial-digital mannequin utilized in medical settings, based mostly on George L Engel’s biopsychosocial mannequin to include individuals’s quickly rising digital interactions. Social work observe may benefit from adopting and adapting this up to date biopsychosocial-digital mannequin. This present biopsychosocial-digital mannequin embraces asking important questions on individuals’s digital setting, thus requiring social employees to have interaction in conversations that require cultural humility.
The digital portion of this evaluation mannequin was added to spotlight the significance of asking individuals questions on their digital experiences. It takes humility and self-assessment to know that we don’t must know every little thing about know-how to have these conversations.
Some examples of those questions are:
- Do you will have entry to high-speed web at house? If not, the place do you will have entry?
- What platforms or apps do you utilize? What gadgets do you utilize to entry these apps?
- Have you considered privateness settings on the apps you utilize?
- Do you share your location with individuals? In that case, with whom and why?
- How do you take part on platforms or apps? Simply scroll? Put up?
- What number of pals do you will have on-line that you haven’t met in individual?
- Do you discover it simpler or tougher to socialize on-line?
- How do you’re feeling if you end up participating on-line?
- Do you ever fear you’re in your gadgets an excessive amount of?
- Do you lose observe of time whereas in your gadgets?
- Are you bullied on-line? Do you expertise discrimination or racism on-line?
- Do you ever take part in bullying, discriminating, or being racist on-line?
- What sort of data have you ever looked for up to now week? Prior to now month?
- What have you ever realized? How has it impacted your considering? Actions?
By increasing our definition of cultural humility into the digital areas, social employees can develop a deeper dedication to asking shoppers questions on their digital experiences with out feeling as in the event that they have to be tech consultants.
Keep in mind, you do not need to know every little thing, and you’ll make errors. Apologize once you do, work to be self-reflective, and proceed to study out of your shoppers about their digital experiences!
Alexis Speck Glennon, DSW, LCSW-R, is an assistant professor at Colby-Sawyer Faculty and has a scientific observe specializing in treating trauma and growing digital literacy abilities for shoppers. Her analysis space is digital literacy abilities for social employees and the social work occupation’s position in tech justice.
