Ethical Dilemmas in Social Work: Technology, Justice, and Practice

This report delves into the intersection of social work and technology, exploring the ethical considerations that arise from the increasing use of digital tools in the field. The author reflects on their placement experience, highlighting how technology enhances social work practices by improving client communication and facilitating access to information through online platforms. However, the report also addresses the challenges, such as data security, privacy concerns related to cloud computing, and the ethical implications of social media. The author emphasizes the importance of maintaining professional boundaries, ensuring client confidentiality, and adhering to ethical guidelines set by organizations like the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). The report discusses the benefits of online counseling and its impact on communication and accessibility while acknowledging the potential for unprofessional services. The conclusion underscores the significant role of technology in social work while emphasizing the need to address ethical challenges, especially those concerning client privacy and confidentiality.

Running head: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ETHICAL ISSUES
Social Justice and Ethical Issues
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ETHICAL ISSUES
Technology can be used to assist various forms of services, which involves the social
work services. Technology in the modern generation is abundantly used in the social work,
which helps to remove the social barriers. The technology enables the social workers to
facilitate various innovations as well as improve the client communications as well. However
the use of the social media technology involves a lot of ethical concerns in relation to the
professional boundaries, confidentiality, privacy and dual relationships as well.
I having reflected on my placement have found that technology plays a very important
role in enhancing the social work practices. The counselling sessions that are conducted
through the internet have improved the client relations and have helped in removing the
barriers. I feel that it has become easier for the social worker to provide easy client care
because they do not need to travel for long distances. The social media offers them the
opportunity to have a check whenever and wherever possible (Ramsey and Montgomery,
2014). The technology also helps the social workers to enjoy the information so that they
remain aware through the online webinars, trainings, peer-reviewed researches, blogs ads
well as the online newsletters. I also have reflected upon that the social work practices have
improved with the help of a number of online software technologies. The management and
the organisations of the client data and the social work have become easier. Even the social
workers can search for the job opportunities online. Also they get the opportunity to receive
degrees from the Online Master of Social Work that accelerates the training of the future
social workers (Gould and Taylor, 2017).
There are a number of challenges that the technology brings along with the
opportunities that it provides. Data security is one of the concerns that the advancement of
technology posits (Slovic, 2013). There are huge amounts of business and personal data that

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are stored electronically and there are same amount of enhanced risk for the leakage of these
data. Along with this, I have found out that there are also risks of cloud computing. For the
amount of resources that are accessed online, there is an increased risk of data privacy.
According to me the open software applications which have open license are risky as well.
The mobile payments of the social work practises, are also liable to misdirected payments,
unauthorized access as well as there could be mistakes in the account balances. The modern
technologies also bring the social media related liabilities. There is also a privacy issue posed
by the “Internet of Things” which means that there is a challenge with the great data.
I feel that the social workers and the people associated with the social work practices
and its welfare in the increasing online culture needs to abide by a number of ethical
considerations. They must be especially aware of the boundary that separates one’s private
and professional life. I have reflected upon that the social practitioners who employ the
clients over the online technological medium must take care that the two lives must be kept
separate. The information of the social workers must also be kept confidential. As discussed
by Wilkins (2013), it is the responsibility of the social workers to be proactive and alert in
ensuring that the personal life is kept that way, and the client-social worker relationship is
maintained with the ethical issues taken in consideration. There should be a formal contract
or agreement on the behalf of the social workers and the clients must be expected to sign so
that there is a mutual agreement and the ethical rules are maintained. According to the
National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the social workers’ obligations are to keep
the client information confidential by developing a comprehensive confidential policy. As
stated by Treem and Leonardi (2013), the implementation of these policies must be made to
the best practice IT security policies and it should be made sure that the confidential policies
are extended to the partners.

3SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ETHICAL ISSUES
I have had the knowledge that the online counselling offers the online service for the
provision of mental health. This is a form of social work that is done with the help of
technology and the organisations and the employees and customers are coming to terms with
this delivery of service. The email or the e-counselling helps in the improvement of the
communication as it takes care of the consumer demands (Hunt, 2008). There could be a
number of unprofessional services that could provide online counselling, because it helps to
change the perceptions of the clients. As per my reflection over the technological placement,
there is also a greater accessibility in the communication speed and the email and the internet
are the mediums of building faster communication on behalf of the councillors.
Technology and its evolutions have proved beneficial for the social work practices. It
has its strengths which include being cost effective as well as it saves time. Internet
technology has made the exchange of information faster and the sales, purchases and the
client communication have been facilitated by the technology in the modern scenario. It has
also increased the productivity of the social work organisations and the social workers are
also benefitted since their job is made much easier and feasible with the involvement of the
internet technology. Along with the strengths, the technology has certain limitations and
disadvantages as well. The most important of them are the privacy issues and there are new
regulations that should be followed. It reduces the effort of the man and this results in the less
work for the people. The possible risk of maintaining the confidentiality is one of the greatest
limitations of the technology.
From the above discussion it can be concluded that the technology has a very
important role to play in the social workers’ lives as well as in the social work practises as it
helps in the improved online health care services as well as in providing online educational
facilities through counselling. However it does have a lot of challenges out of which the

4SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ETHICAL ISSUES
privacy is the main concern, to which the ethical considerations involve maintaining the
confidentiality in the information of the clients.

5SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ETHICAL ISSUES
References:
Gould, N. and Taylor, I., 2017. Reflective learning for social work: research, theory and
practice. Routledge.
Hunt, S. (2008). In favor of online Counselling?. [ebook] Available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03124070208410984 [Accessed 23 Aug.
2019].
Ramsey, A.T. and Montgomery, K., 2014. Technology-based interventions in social work
practice: A systematic review of mental health interventions. Social work in health
care, 53(9), pp.883-899.
Slovic, P., 2013. Risk, media and stigma: Understanding public challenges to modern science
and technology. Routledge.
Treem, J.W. and Leonardi, P.M., 2013. Social media use in organizations: Exploring the
affordances of visibility, editability, persistence, and association. Annals of the International
Communication Association, 36(1), pp.143-189.
Wilkins, L.T., 2013. Social deviance: Social policy, action and research. Routledge.