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SSSC 23 Things Digital – Thing 8: Facebook

In relation to my personal social media, including Facebook, I have ensured all my settings are checked and set to private/friends only. I'm conscious about what information I share, upload and view on social media as this could have an impact on my professional status and my registration with the SSSC. I follow the social media guidance from my employer and I ensure my staff receive annual compliance updates on the rules of social media through our policy. 

For the example profile for Sarah Smith, I immediately noticed her full date of birth was visible to the public as well as details of her profession, marital status, personal interests and location. Someone could easily find out exactly where she worked from this information. As I scrolled further down, I noticed two posts relating to her work which were very unprofessional and could be used against Sarah if a person or family she cared for saw them. This could lead to disciplinary action being taken against Sarah and would be a breach of the Codes of Practice, in particular, section 5 which states "As a Social Service Worker, I must uphold public trust and confidence in social services". It may be the case that Sarah hasn't had a detailed induction from her employer in regards to acceptable use of social media and the need to respect confidentiality and uphold trust of service users. 

My establishment does not have a Facebook account however I have worked with establishments who do have a Facebook account or rather a Facebook group or page. To make sure these comply with social media guidance of our authority, the establishment has to put in a request to IT to set up an account so IT can make sure the relevant security measures are in place on the page/group. They have to have all the names of staff who will use the account. The benefits of using a Facebook Group for an establishment is the admin have to accept any requests to join which means you control who access the content. However a group allows the members to see one another which could cause confidentiality issues amongst service users and the personal accounts of the staff working for the establishment. The benefits of a Facebook Page for an establishment means, unless service users are friends on Facebook, they can't see who likes the page, including staff members who might like the page. Posts to the page are made from the establishment account and comments can be moderated. However anyone can like the Facebook page whether they have any affiliation to the establishment meaning anyone can view the content. 

I think social media is a great way to share ideas and content with your service users however I make sure all staff are aware of the risks of having their own social media and how things they post can be used against them if they fall into the wrong hands. 

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