Navigating the digital social ecology: technology-mediated family practices and digital kinship

The ubiquity of digital technology in daily life makes it both an integral part of and bridge between our various social systems, not merely a communication tool. Contemporary relational social work, therefore, requires an understanding of human interaction in the sociotechnical context where people and digital technologies intersect and interact. This paper explores how social work can navigate the digital social ecology, outlining three key aspects that infuse all levels of social systems: digital relationality (technology-mediated relationships); digital rights (protection of online safety and opportunities); and digital resilience (digital skills and ability to negotiate online experiences). The presentation challenges the notion of digital dualism which perceives online interactions as ‘virtual’ and less ‘real’ than physical interactions, suggesting instead that technology-mediated relationships are not a simulacrum, but can be very real, as are the emotions they generate. It therefore focuses on the first of these ‘Digital 3 R’s’, digital relationality. Much social work practice engages with people who are separated from significant family relationships, either through social work intervention, as in the field of child welfare and out-of-home care, or through circumstance, for example migration and asylum-seeking. The paper explores the opportunities, challenges and subjective realities of digitally-mediated kinship for separated families, including: how a sense of family is constructed through technology-mediated family practices; the potential for digital technologies to facilitate emotional closeness between physically distant individuals; children and young people’s agency and technology use; the implications of commercial realities leading to digital interactions that are not always person-led or person-centred. It considers what this means for how social workers support and help sustain significant kin connections in a digital world.