We live in an era of smiley faces, emoticons and abbreviations. ‘LOL’, ‘BFF’, ‘ILY’, and
are used by many people to communicate their reactions and emotions to each other on a daily basis. In addition, instant messaging, facetime and other functionalities facilitate synchronous and asynchronous interactions across geographical and temporal spaces that have never been possible in any previous era of humankind.
The benefits which flow from electronic communication are multiple and varied and many are yet to be discovered. The internet is a place of possibilities and as such it is exciting, interesting and alive with potential. It is also a social space and like all social contexts the importance of relationships is not far beneath the surface. However, in the world of networked relationships, novel ways of interacting have emerged, some useful, some negative. Research is playing catch-up and we are only at the start of understanding what is distinctive about communication and relationships in online settings.
The widespread use of digital communication overlaps with social work practice in different ways. In this special edition, I am interested to hear from authors on how digital communication is impacting, positively or negatively, on relationships relevant to the context of social work services. For example, what are the issues, related to digital and online communication, which social workers are encountering in their work with individuals, families and communities?
Contributors are asked to submit their articles in the standard way on the journal website. Please indicate on the first page that you wish your article to be considered for this special edition by marking it for the attention of the Networked Relationships edition. Final date for first submission is 30 June 2018. Following peer review, contact will be made with the authors and those selected for this special edition will be required to submit the final version of their article by 15 January 2019.
If you wish to contact the guest editor in advance of your submission please email Gloria Kirwan at this email address: [email protected]. Gloria Kirwan is Assistant Professor of Social Work, Trinity College, Dublin, where she is Acting Director of the Master’s in Social Work degree.
Additional information for authors is available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjsw20
Guest Editor