Social media, empathy and interpersonal skills: social work students’ reflections in the digital era

ABSTRACT

This paper examines second-year social work students’ (n = 19) reflections on empathy as part of an interpersonal skills course at a regional university in Australia. Students were asked to consider their personal, online and classroom experiences, before responding to a reflective learning prompt: ‘Online communication is killing connection: (the Facebook Like symbol) does not equal empathy’. Qualitative analysis of their responses identified tensions between students’ engagement with social media and their developing understandings of empathy. Students reported an ease and confidence in the use of social media, but were also aware of the risks associated with perceived anonymity, shifting boundaries and an absence of audial and verbal cues in establishing context and quality of communication. Their reflections also suggested that the range of stimulus material used in the interpersonal skills course—including podcasts—had increased their social media awareness and their desire to improve their online interpersonal skills. The implications for professional and pedagogical objectives, as well as curriculum design are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Social work students
• social work education
• empathy
• digitisation
• digital professionalism
• interpersonal skills
• social networking
• social media
• technologies
• counselling skills

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the social work students who so generously offered their reflections for analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tamara Blakemore

Tamara Blakemore (BA (Psychology), BSW Hons, PhD) is a social work practitioner, researcher and educator. Tamara remains actively involved at the coalface of practice in regional NSW and is passionate about holist, connection-based practice particularly in the fields of trauma, mental health, justice and law.

Kylie Agllias

Kylie Agllias (BSW Hons, PhD) is a social work academic whose teaching interests include social work practice skills, family work, and applied research. She is particularly interested in research about sensitive issues with vulnerable populations.