The rise of the Internet and the proliferation of social media have changed how we access information and interact. It’s now easier than ever to do research, find resources and make connections. However, the nature of these interactions have a much different quality in the online realm than off.

As we spend more time online, these changes inevitably impact the social work field in a variety of ways, both positive and negative. While access to information and resources is more convenient than ever, Internet use can also open up users to potential privacy breaches. The following are some examples of ways social media is impacting the social work field:

Without continued congressional support and a national commitment to succeed, The Affordable Care Act will eventually falter.  Why has it been so difficult for the United States, the greatest industrialized nation on earth, to provide affordable healthcare for all its citizens? Is it political polarization, philosophical divides, economic conundrums, relentless costly innovation, government regulation, professional posturing, or a combination of all these factors that has prevented every administration since Franklin Roosevelt from tackling the problem?

Wall street investors have discovered the nonprofit world. Why are the “profit seekers” sniffing around the pressing social problems that have always been the pervue of nonprofits? Wall street calls this new investor initiative Impact Investing and reports that it is thriving. Currently impact investors have $228 billion in assets under management. “Individuals are huge drivers of the rise of impact investing,” says Amit Bouri, CEO of the Global Impact Investing Network. “They increasingly want to be a part of the solution to problems surrounding their communities and the environment. Investors pumped $35.5 billion into 11,000 deals last year, and that number is expected to grow by 8% in 2018.”

The recent passing of beloved TV personality Anthony Bourdain and fashion icon Kate Spade has pushed suicide back into the cultural dialogue spotlight. Social workers who work in suicide prevention every day remind us, however, that suicide is, and always has been, part of the human condition and not the dramatic exception that celebrity suicide seems to suggest.

Jim Langford, born and raised in the small town of Calhoun, is a faithful son of Georgia. After earning an MBA from the Harvard Business School, Jim went on to create a $2.5 billion technology company with a team of fellow alums. Then he turned his efforts to public service and began his tireless work for a better Georgia by writing the legislation to preserve Georgia’s Native American archaeological sites threatened by looters and development. Later, as head of Georgia’s Trust for Public Lands, Langford spearheaded the development of the Atlanta BeltLine, a series of multiuse paths and parks running in a rough loop around the city’s center.

Charter schools and school choice are no longer experiments. Nationwide, they have become important components of public education. Since this blog began a discussion of educational improvement almost two years ago, we have heard from countless educators, administrators, and social workers both pro and con on school choice and the advantages and disadvantages of charter schools. Today we would like to catalogue the input we have received to give you an overview of what education professionals are saying about this all-important public policy issue.

When we’re very busy taking care of other people, it’s easy to overlook the need to take care of ourselves. But self-care is vitally important for making sure you’re up to the challenges of being a caregiver. In order to be there for your loved ones and handle all your responsibilities, you need to keep up your health and energy levels. Here are some tips for making time for yourself in your everyday life.

Guns in the United States

• In 2016, firearms were responsible for more than 38,000 deaths and over 116,000 nonfatal gunshot wounds in the United States.
• The United States owns approximately 250 million guns, nearly one for each citizen, and grows about 7 million each year.
• Each year, the United States has a bit over 8,000 murders with firearms.
• According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, a total of 346 mass shootings (5 or more victims) occurred in the U.S. in 2017.
• As of May 17th 2018, 101 mass shootings have already occurred this year.  

Social Work Today magazine has just published the top ten list of social workers who were nominated by their peers for outstanding performance in the past year. We are proud to reprint these inspirational comments from the finalists in their own words.

Twenty years-ago it seemed like every family in the country was struggling with a teenager suffering from an “eating disorder”. In recent years this serious social, mental health, psychological, and medical problem seems to be garnering a lot less attention. Did we lick it, or have we just stopped talking about it?