Social Work in the Age of Disconnection

Narrative Case Studies

Michael Jarrette-Kenny, Miriam Jaffe, Michael Jarrette-Kenny, Miriam Jaffe

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000584158
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Social Sciences

This edited text brings together the stories of nine clinical social workers working during COVID-19, exploring the disconnections caused by a forced use of technology as well as the disconnections apparent in a time of social injustice.

Employing narrative strategies to capture this transformative moment of our history, these chapters explore the effects of technology and social media on psychotherapy, the delivery of services for the chronically mentally ill and elderly, as well as the consequences of recent cultural shifts on our conceptions of gender, sexuality, race, the immigrant experience, and political activism. While traditional research methodologies tend to address social problems as if they were divorced from the lives and experiences of human beings, these chapters employ phenomenological description of how the existing system functions, to identify theory-to-practice gaps and to recover the experiences of the person within the various institutional structures. Divided into three parts, each chapter begins with pre-reading and close reading questions and ends with writing prompts, allowing for practitioners and students to examine their own thoughts, and put what they have learnt into practice.

Suitable for students of clinical social work and practicing mental health professionals, this book is essential for those wanting to make sense of social work practice in our constantly evolving times.

1 Are You “Following” Me? Gen Z’s Emotional Intelligence in Online Activism

Kristin Biri

DOI: 10.4324/9781003270225-1

Pre-reading Questions:

1. From early to late adolescence, individuals are exploring and experimenting with a sense of self. How do you think this process of development has shifted during the pandemic—not just for individuals, but for groups involving adolescents?
2. What are “intelligence quotients” (IQ) and how have they been used to determine success? What are some of the differentiators between IQ and “emotional quotients” (EQ) and how may these distinctions predict success?
3. Who is Generation Z and what are some distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from previous generations? How has Generation Z helped to redefine citizenship in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, BLM movement, and the political landscape of 2020?

We all snarl at tweens and teens who are “addicted” to their phones. We joke that their phones are an extension of their arms and permanently tied to their beings. We judge them, as we believe their texti young language and the way they communicate with one another is not proper English. We think they lack social skills because they exist online more so than they exist offline. And perhaps most importantly, we are eminently concerned that technology and social media are causing irreparable damage to teens’ and tweens’ mental health and well-being.

We as older generations, and we as parents, like to consider ourselves omniscient as our lived experiences have brought upon us knowledge, character, and wisdom. Yet, as I have come to learn, age does not always bring growth. Instead it may bring a strict set of values and outdated beliefs that leave us stagnant. I myself am an avid social media user, and when I look at my own social media feeds, I am inherently aware of the interactions that occur among my “friends” and exchanges that ensue among my online social groups. As of late, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 presidential election, and Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to name a few, many interactions come across as plain hostile. But these are not tweens or teens, or even young adults. These are grown adults, Millennials, but even more so, Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers, who have taken to social media to bash, ridicule, and spew hate among their own turf. They are talking at one another, not with one another. No one is listening (or reading) for understanding of the other’s perspective. The only noise they are listening to is that of their keyboards rampantly typing their follow-up response. Maybe we older generations fear the younger generations pose a risk to our established way of life, our homeostasis. Maybe we feel a sense of incompetence as we struggle to keep up with the new. Whatever it may be, the more we see technology and social media as the problem, or as the enemy, and the more we encapsulate ourselves in an all-knowing ideology, the more we create a profound rift between ourselves and the generations of the future.

I have been captivated by technology and social media’s impact on child and adolescent identity development and the means in which this new generation, Generation Z, uses technology for their own connection, coping, and emotion regulation, long before COVID-19 came into the picture. But, COVID-19 came, with a fury. And my ideology that we must work with, rather than against, technology became more relevant than ever before. I teach continuing education courses through our state university’s school of social work program on Screen Smart Counseling. I work to instill the belief that the more we become culturally competent about Generation Z, and the more we learn about technology and social media, the stronger the connections and the better rapport we can build with our children and our clients. Parents and clinicians alike often find themselves floundering when it comes to understanding this generation’s adept use of media as a mechanism of personal development. In a session, clinicians may ask young clients to put their phones away or leave them outside the room. At home, parents may set strict limits and boundaries on how often and when they can use technology, while also restricting what apps and accounts they allow their children to create. Rightly so, they all have the best intentions—we hear technology and social media can exacerbate anxiety and depression, there are privacy and safety concerns, children may be catfished, worse yet, they may be kidnapped by an online predator, cyberbullying is rampant, children lack the ability to make well-thought-out choices—the list of fears and concerns is endless.

But by doing these things, parents and clinicians also are preventing themselves from seeing the bigger picture: technology and social media provide opportunities for self and other exploration and experimentation, the core psychosocial developmental task of adolescence. And, if you pull back the lens even further, I believe you will find that Generation Z is not just acting within their developmental schemas, they are also exemplifying how we can better integrate important social–emotional traits into our own online existence. Furthermore, through this integration, Generation Z is also highlighting how to more effectively engage in intellectual conflict online, a skill that will most certainly promote social justice, as well as better position us as a country to learn skills to better advocate for social change.

Psychosocial Theory

Erik Erikson is a pioneer of psychosocial theory and adolescent identity development. Erikson’s psychosocial theory is based on four concepts: developmental stages, developmental tasks, psychosocial crisis, and process of coping (Erikson, 1994). There are eight stages of development that correspond to Freud’s theory of psychosocial development (Erikson, 1994). These eight stages of development propose that we are all confronted with unique stage of life problems and that we must integrate our own needs and skillsets with the social demands of our culture (Newman & Newman, 1976). The shift from adolescence to adulthood is thought to be the most critical time period in identity development, as there is an increased focus on the self (Waterman, 1982; Valkenburg, Peter, & Schouten, 2006). Erikson’s stage of adolescent development, between the ages of 12 and 18, is categorized as Identity versus Role Confusion (Erikson, 1994). The goal of this stage is to establish an ego identity, the sense of self that one develops through social interactions (Erikson, 1994; Bosma & Kunnen, 2001). Waterman (1982) defined identity as the combination of multiple facets: the definition of the term self, commitments to goals and personal values, goal-directed activity involvement, recognition of alternative identity options, self-acceptance, appreciation of personal uniqueness, and confidence in a successful future. Adolescents form their identities based on their exploration of the world and how they relate to society (Bosma & Kunnen, 2001).

Newman and Newman (1976) created a subsection of Erikson’s identity development in early adolescence and labeled it Group Identity versus Alienation. They believed one of the four tasks of early adolescence was to attain membership in a peer group and establish close friends (Newman & Newman, 1976). Social connections are a central feature of normative adolescent development into adulthood (Allen, Ryan, Gray, McInerney, & Waters, 2014). Adolescents have an innate psychological drive to belong to groups and take part in meaningful social interactions (Allen et al., 2014). This need to belong is derived from three basic needs: inclusion, affection, and control (Gangadharbatla, 2008).

The friendship networks adolescents form online are much larger than offline networks (Manago, 2014). These online communities help adolescents build social capital (Ahn, 2011). Social capital is the resources accumulated by forming and maintaining friendships (Steinfield, et al., 2008). Ahn (2011) referred to social capital as “bridging and bonding,” meaning communities of people with a higher level of trust have higher social capital, therefore, are more likely to help one another (p. 1440). Higher levels of social capital are related to higher levels of psychological well-being, such as self-esteem and satisfaction with life (Steinfield et al., 2008).

Emotional Intelligence

Intellectual ability is a globally understood concept that encompasses one’s ability to use logic, plan, problem-solve, think abstractly, use language, and learn, and is of course, related to success in many different sectors (Drigas & Papoutsi, 2018). However, in the last three decades, researchers began to consider if this sole set of skills was enough on its own to contribute to individuals’ life successes (Drigas & Papoutsi, 2018). The term “emotional intelligence” entered the mainstream with Daniel Goleman’s 1995 release of Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, where he ascertained that a set of five specific traits was more integral to success than one’s overall cognitive functioning and mental abilities. These traits include self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills (Goleman, 1995). Before considering the concept of emotional intelligence, it may be helpful to first break down the concept of an “emotion.” Drigas and Papoutsi (2018), drawing on a Darwinian framework, define emotion as “a complex feeling which results in physical and psychological changes affecting thought and behavior” (p. 3). Various theories, including the James-Lange Theory, the Cannon-Bard Theory, Schacter and Singer’s two-factor theory, and cognitive appraisal, have all attempted to understand how and why individuals feel emotions from physiological and psychological perspectives (Drigas & Papoutsi, 2018).

Goleman (1995), referring to psychologists Solevey’s and Mayer’s definitions of “personal” or emotional intelligence, elaborates on how the ability to have insight and understanding into our emotions, handle feelings appropriately, delay gratification, attune themselves to others’ social signals, and manage emotions in others through relationships, allows for individuals to excel in both the “practicalities of life” and to be “so highly valued in the workplace” (p. 42). In Di Fabio and Kenny’s (2016) review of emotional intelligence literature, they noted a well-documented connection between emotional intelligence and positive outcomes in social, psychological, career, and academic domains along with strong associations to resilience, positive self-image, and social support. Drigas and Papoutsi (2018) note emotional intelligence leads to better social relationships for children, familial relationships, more positive perceptions from others, and overall improved well-being.

Scholars have questioned whether emotional intelligence traits are innate or can be taught to individuals (Zeidner, Matthews, Roberts, & MacCann, 2003). Biology, family dynamics, poverty, and culture act as exacerbating agents to complex social and emotional problems, and while the underlying basis for emotional intelligence traits is undoubtedly neural, due to the brain’s plasticity, it is believed that emotional skills can be acquired at any age—but their acquisition takes much practice and commitment, particularly as age increases (Goleman, 1995, 2000). Goleman (1995) notes the frontal lobe, the part of the brain responsible for emotion regulation, matures through adolescence and discusses different “windows” for helping children acquire productive emotional habits as they enter into adulthood (p. 227). Additionally, developmental psychologists have mapped the growth of emotions, allowing them to consider what specific traits can be taught at which specific periods of child development, thus achieving the highest levels of mastery (p. 227). In Meena Srinivasan’s (2014) release of Teach, Breathe, Learn, she looks at how mindfulness, a skill directly related to self-awareness and self-regulation can be built through constant practice, and refers to Hebb’s rule: “neurons that fire together, wire together,” discussing how the connections among neurons are “plastic” and can change over time (p. 109).

Ronald Kessler’s research indicates that early intervention, not just infor mation giving, but comprehensive trainings related to emotional and social competencies, has the ability to prevent more significant mental health diagnoses, even in children with a history of trauma and genetic predispositions (Goleman, 1995). Academic curriculum’s integration of emotional intelligence skills across classroom settings indicates that in the sphere of K-12 education, there are believers that these skills may be manifested through instruction and practice (Ross & Tolan, 2018). Goleman (1995) notes that while emotional literacy classes may appear simplistic and dull, “the outcome-decent human beings-is more critical to our future than ever” (p. 263).

Unironically, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) coined the phrase Social–Emotional Learning (SEL) after Goleman’s (1995) research positing emotional intelligence was attributed to higher school successes, inclusive of reduced conduct incidents, improved graduation rates, and more engaged citizenship (Ross & Tolan, 2018). CASEL, over the last two decades, has become a widely accepted holistic theoretical framework in schools across the country, with their five-factor SEL model emphasizing the skills of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship/communication skills, and responsible decision-making (Ross & Tolan, 2018; Elbertson, Brackett, & Weissberg, 2010). In addition to CASEL, in 2010, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices finalized the Common Core Standards Initiative, shifting away from content guidelines in English Language Arts and Mathematics and instead focusing on expectations for student knowledge and skills in K-12 education (Porter et al., 2011). What this unprecedented, pedagogical shift required, was in essence, student acquisition of social emotional skills, with developmentally appropriate lessons designed for each grade level (Srinivasan, 2014). Prior to this model, traditional emphasis in schools was only on student acquisition of academic instruction; in other words, students were expected to learn a subject and regurgitate responses, with little room for critical thinking and academic debate (Elbertson et al., 2010). The new ideology emphasizes that learning takes place in the context of student relationships with others, such as their relationships with teachers, administrations, and peers; consequently, through these relationships, attachment, respect, and communication is enhanced, followed up with brain development (Elbertson et al., 2010).

New Age Thinking on Theoretical Concepts

In the decades since Erikson formulated his theories of identity development, much has evolved socially and culturally among the adolescent population, and as a result, other scholars have disseminated how the shifts in society have affected our views on identity development. Erikson (1994) suggested that an expanded social context introduces adolescents to new identifications, roles, rules, demands, and opportunities for growth and change. Bosma and Kunnen (2001) referred to this as the “person-context fit,” but they have recognized how historical changes in social and cultural contexts have led to changes in how we should interpret Erikson’s theory of identity formation (p. 46). While Erikson’s (1994) work has been a cornerstone to understanding psychosocial development, some ideologies are not only antiquated but also invalidating to current adolescent experiences.

First, when disseminating beliefs on identity, Erikson referred to heterosexuality in regard to development of one’s sexual identity. Heterosexuality is believed to be a derivative of our male-dominated, patriarchal social arrangements, allowing males economic, physical, and social access to women (Rich, 1993). When heterosexuality is socially constructed as a norm, however, it eliminates the option for healthy gender and sexual self-exploration by illegitimizing sexual exploration that falls outside of this purview (Konik & Stewart, 2004). Individuals may then commit to an identity, without experiencing an identity crisis, also referred to as identity foreclosure (Konik & Stewart, 2004). Marcia (1966) asserted that identity achievement could only happen once one is able to actively question his/her sexual identity to then deepen and enrich the commitment. Alessi and Martin (2017) highlighted the pivotal role of understanding minority stress when attempting to understand the comprehensive trauma among LGTB individuals. Even when LGTB individuals grow up in supportive familial environments, it does not minimize the structural societal forces in place that marginalize their gender and sexual identities (Alessi & Martin, 2017).

In 2020, the reach of societal forces has exponentially increased as adolescents are exposed to dual worlds every day: an online world and an offline world. Manago (2014) asserted that adolescents are growing up during a time of profound sociocultural shifts in technology. Today, average adolescents are spending far more hours interacting with their peers through the use of an Internet-connected device, rather than interacting in-person (Turkle, 2015). According to Wallace (2015), some 13-year-olds check their social media account upward of 100 times each day and spend an average of nine hours daily consuming media. Additionally, the social context of social media arguably introduces adolescents to roles and rules that differ greatly than in-person communication and interactions; consequently, adolescents must learn to navigate, integrate, and separate two distinct standards of living...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Notes on Editors
• Notes on Contributors
• 1 Are You “Following” Me?: Gen Z’s Emotional Intelligence in Online Activism
• 2 On the Online Self as an Extension of Personhood
• 3 “Hi, I Can Hear You”: Facilitating Telephone-Based Caregiver Support Groups
• 4 Identity, Technology, and the Shaping of a Self
• 5 Connection and Separation Reconsidered: Challenges and Opportunities in the New World of Digital Communication
• 6 The Disembodied Self and the Future of Psychotherapy
• 7 The Role of Technology in Community Mental Health: A Strengths-Based Approach
• 8 Addressing Social Injustice in Social Work Practice: The Clinical Advocacy Model
• 9 Our Illusion of Separateness: Teaching Social Justice to Social Work Students
• Index