Many people are now using a Social Media platform of some sort, just under half the population in the UK at 31 million have a Facebook account. There is no denying that young people, who are often labelled as ‘Digital Natives’, are most likely to be using the internet to showcase parts of their lives to peers and wider social networks. Is this something we should fear or embrace?
More importantly, should Youth Workers move their work into digital arenas? When we think about social networking sites (SNS), we often think of Facebook. However, this seems to be an outdated platform that young people have moved on from in favour of Instagram and Snapchat. There are also trending apps which come in and out of fashion and just as we get to know about them, the young audiences have moved on to the next in thing.
I would be surprised to hear of a Youth Worker who does not know of the risks associated with being online and I am not going to discuss this here. I would like to know what prevents Youth Workers from using SNS to engage with young people more, there seems to be so much emphasis on educating young people on internet safety and warning them of the dangers. Am I the only one who thinks that young people are more aware of this than we are? I can only think of a few things that might prevent youth workers from using these platforms more:
Privacy – Are we invading young people’s privacy? I do not think so, if a young person is online and has invited you to join in then it is not an invasion of privacy. I can see that there could be questions around voluntary engagement but I don’t see that there is much difference to a young person engaging in a online project or a face-face one. In fact, they probably have more control as they can choose to let you see and be part of their online world or completely block you from it! I know my view is quite simplistic and of course informed choices maybe in question here as the young people we engage with may not feel like they can ignore you, have a private account and many other factors.
However, for many young people, communicating online is the norm and it is this that I think is the biggest challenge for youth workers. Many of us are clinging on to our views that the old way of youth work is the best but I wonder around the streets and do not see young people often anymore because they are all indoors! Can we effectively communicate online, can we be person-centred and use holistic methods online? I do not know the answer but I do think that we need to be aboard the fast moving digital train if we want to keep youth work alive because it can bring about creativity and open up opportunities for young people. YouTube for example, love it or hate it, has the ability to teach, inspire and change lives and can be used as a positive platform for young people. However, Instagram has been shown to have a negative impact on young people’s wellbeing but how can we tackle this issue if we are not a part of it or do not understand it?
More research is being done on how young people use SNS and the internet but I think there is a missing gap, we need to know where Youth Workers can fit into this and a good framework of using SNS and online projects to work with young people in a way that adheres to our values.
Please let me know of any projects you have online and how they work!
Memoirs of a Youth Worker 