Role-emerging Practice

Hello all,

I am nearing the end of my final year studies in the UK. I am currenlty conducting exploratory research into the effect social media usage has upon the occupational balance of University students. As we all know the use of social media is soaring and is now utilised as a main method of communication.

Unsurprisingly there is a lacking Ocupational Therapy evidence base surrouding the impact social media can have upon the occupational balance of the general population. Upon completion of this research I aim to make recommendations for Occupational Therapists to look at their current practice - can service users utilise social media to faciliatte them in achieving their occupational balance or are they using social media excessively resulting in addiction. We have a duty to ensure practive is as current as possible, therefore should Occupational Therapists be exploring the effect social media has amongst service users in the technologically advanced world we live in today. There may also be scope for us to lead societal change by developing a Occupational Therapy role to provide education surrounding the benefits associated with social media (supporting people to achieve an occupational balance), in addition to educating the dark occupations that can arise (such as addiction) from excessive social media usage.

I would be interested to hear other peoples thoughts- also if you're aware of any literature surrounding this topic I would love to hear from you. Also those who are in current practice, do you do this already (if so how is this working for you) or if not - do you think this would be beneficial to service users?

Kind regards,

Gemma Townsend.