Projects & Outputs
'The Social Media, Online and Digital Abuse and Harassment of Social Workers, Probation Officers and Social Work Students in Ireland: A National Survey'
- Authors
Kenneth Burns, Olwen Halvey, Fiachra Ó Súilleabháin, Elaine O’Callaghan, Gabriel Coelho
- Year
- 2024
- Journal Name
- The British Journal of Social Work
- Category
- Journal Article
- Keywords
- cyberbullying, social work, online abuse, social workers
- Project
Social media, online & digital abuse and harassment. Find out more at: SMOA | 深夜亚洲福利久久 College Cork
- Full Citation
Kenneth Burns, Olwen Halvey, Fiachra Ó Súilleabháin, Elaine O’Callaghan, Gabriel Coelho, '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, Volume 54, Issue 7, October 2024, Pages 3274–3294,
- Link to Publication
- 听丑迟迟辫蝉://诲辞颈.辞谤驳/10.1093/产箩蝉飞/产肠补别091
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.