The Ethical Impact of Communication Technology and Social Media on Social Work Practice in the Deaf Community

Technology in the 21st century revolutionizes the methods of social work practice and intervention, which has ethical implications for social work practice with deaf and hard of hearing populations.

In particular, the amount of research on the ethical impact of communication technology and social media on social work practice with deaf and hard of hearing populations needs an extensive description of the unique experiences and perspectives of social workers who use technology and social media at their work.

To accomplish this goal, 175 participants were chosen from the following departments:

• BSW interns
• MSW interns
• social work practitioners
• agency administrators
• field instructors
• field liaisons
• field education program directors

Participants were invited to fill out a survey using Monkey Survey that consists of quantitative and qualitative questions, including:

• How do social work practitioners adhere to ethical standards in using communication technology and social media? and;
• Do the agencies that serve deaf and hard of hearing populations have communication technology and social media policies in place?

Microsoft Excel, SPSS, and HyperRESEARCH will be utilized to analyze data.