The use of Facebook in Social Work Practice with Families: Safeguarding or Surveillance?

While there are many potentially positive uses of social media for social work, widespread social media usage has presented some challenges for social workers. Insights from research reveal that social workers are accessing information from service users’ social media posts without consent as part of information gathering for assessment. There have been calls in the literature for further investigation of the complexities of the relationship between the profession and social media before such usage becomes routine. This chapter explores recent relevant literature and considers ways in which the profession has attempted to codify principles for ethical social work practice in the digital space. We call for balance in professional codes and agency guidelines to foster positive innovations in social media use in social work practice while ensuring social work conduct is ethical and transparent. Social work values and sound research should drive our innovation in this space to ensure good practice.