Social media is here to stay and a majority of adults (and young people) will engage with it to some extent. Therefore, it’s important that our registrants understand how to use it safely and appropriately. It offers wonderful opportunities to connect with friends, colleagues and organisations around the world but it can also cause problems if not used carefully. This section should read in conjunction with the sections on Digital Ethics and Standards of Conduct and Practice.
Sharing Content/Posts/Comments
One of the first things you should do is read your own organisation’s guidance on social media for employees and familiarise yourself with it. Consider this and the Northern Ireland Social Care Council Standards of Conduct and Practice to help guide your use of all social media platforms.
Read the following articles: How to Separate the Personal and Professional on Social Media and Social workers cannot ignore the role of social media in the profession.
Social media is also a way to communicate with the public and importantly, the people who use or might use services. It can be an excellent promotional tool. It’s becoming increasingly important to consider how your organisation uses social media to inform service users about what it does.
Read Social Care Meets Social Media: What’s Holding the Sector Back?
Find out what sort of social media presence your own organisation and service has.
Big organisations such as Trusts or national organisations will almost certainly have accounts on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram. Does your service? If so, how up-to-date and accurate is the content?
You can find the Social Care Council on social media on these platforms:
Examples of social media:
Reflective learning exercise
Complete the exercise below and keep a record of your reflections.
We are always interested in ensuring our resources are valuable tools for the workforce and are keen to hear your feedback, or ideas for future topics which could be included in this resource.
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