Problems and prospects for the development of digital technologies in social work with young people

Authors

  • Mariia M. Ivanova St. Petersburg State University, 7–9 Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu12.2020.405

Abstract

The global use of information and communication technologies encourages the development and implementation of new digital methods in social work with young people. Digital innovations are becoming not only a source of youth empowerment but also an information resource that helps to reduce the distance between the needs of young people and the institution of social work. The article discusses the current state and prospects of social work with young people in the era of the digital society. The research focuses on reviewing existing digital technologies with young people, determining the limitations of using information and communication technologies in the social sphere, identifying the actual risks of digitalization in social work with young people, and determining the degree of involvement of young people in digital social work. The design of the study is based on the case study method for digitalization processes in non-profit organizations with a social orientation in St. Petersburg, including methods of semi-structured expert interviews (N=11), focus groups (N=4) and document analysis. The study showed an active process of youth mobilization in the activities of socially oriented non-profit organizations as the creator of a digital project. The analysis of NGO’s activities demonstrated the difficulty of transposing quantitative indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of information and communication technologies in social work with young people into socio-psychological indicators. The author concludes that the key task of successful implementation of digital technologies in social work with young people is the need for interdisciplinary interaction and cross-sectoral cooperation, involvement of social enterprises to participate in the development of digital social projects, and training of professionals in social services in the implementation of digital practices. 

Keywords:

digitization, information and communication technologies, youth, social work, non-profit organizations with a social orientation

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Published

2021-01-14

How to Cite

Ivanova, M. M. (2021). Problems and prospects for the development of digital technologies in social work with young people. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Sociology, 13(4), 429–442. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu12.2020.405

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 4 (2020): Vestnik of Saint-Petersburg University. Sociology

Section

Social technologies for solving the problems of modern society

License

Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Sociology" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.