Developing a Technology Philosophy for Digital Youth Work

Abstract

Ask almost any youth worker their view on engaging young people via the internet, whether through social networking sites such as Facebook or via bespoke online communities, and the probability is high that any answer will involve a sigh, a look of uncertainty and a hesitant, ‘Well…’. Ask the same youth worker a further question of, ‘How confident are you to develop or deliver digital youth work?’ and the answers become even more uncertain. With the explosion of social media and its impact on contemporary youth dominating headlines, most youth workers acknowledge the necessity of incorporating it to varying degrees in their practice; what is less agreed is what such work might consist of and how it might best be approached.