I have yet quite short career and digitalization has been part of it from the beginning. Client data is sent and reported through systems and secured e-mail, meetings have been held with Teams, there are no more paper archives, the online calendar shows how the shared office space is booked and I can reach my colleagues anywhere during my workday. And I don’t know any different way of working.
After graduating I worked on a project that supported young people online and face-to-face, individually and groups. Supporting youths’ mental health is effective online because the youth can open chat anywhere. Also I noticed that for youth peer support is easier to participate online when you can be anonymous. However, in order to tell others about your own challenges, a person must overcome their own emotions, beliefs, assumptions and all the obstacles that the human mind makes. There are ways technology can make that easier, but the person must do it by themselves.
There is still a lot to improve with technology in social care. Currently large amount of professional work is diverted to other areas than meeting people in need. The reporting to client systems tooks a lot of time and there could be easier ways of doing that. I have been using dictation machine but it is not included in our systems and I must be careful of not to give out personal data, so the benefits are not so great. Also transferring data, communication and cooperation with colleagues is too complicated and takes a lot of time.
In the social sector we don’t have many general recommendations based on research. This will change a lot in the future and that is going to improve equality. I’m not sure how it will be approached in the sector, as up until now each employee has been allowed to define their own course of action using their own discretion.
For social anxiety technology has brought tools to help day-to-day life and technology is a great help to communicate alternatively. But still many transactions require calling which is challenging for those who are suffering from social problems. Preventive methods should be developed to prevent all the growing social problems like social anxiety.
I thought of a future where technology and AI have new ways of improving practices for my field. For example a tool where child welfare system had a way to identify children who do not receive protection, care and education appropriately without people. Also, there could be a practice where AI could predict aggressive or unpredictably acts and increase safety for professionals. It would also be good to get feedback from my work, whether I am supporting the person in the right way and for the right reason, if the person needs something else or what they are really their experiencing and thinking and what would AI do to treating people with addictions.
Sekasin-bot and GDPR
There is already online mental health support that has been provided by AI. Sekasin -bot has been developed to help young people with mental health problems and suicidal behavior. The reason why Sekasin collective started with this project is good: there is only enough people so only one in four requests for help from youth can be answered.
First, Sekasin-bot team developed ethical principles for technology-assisted mental health work. The idea was to provide help so the person can manage by them self without the bot so the bot could not be human-like and cause affection. Sekasin-bot does not collect any personal information.
The principles are:
- Separating humans and AI
- Recognize risky situations
- Secure content
- Privacy and data processing
- Transparency
(Virtanen 2025.)
Principles are similar with the GDPR. GDPR points out that privacy is default, and the sensitivity of client data is important (Wolford n.d.). It is something I am in touch with daily handling the client’s personal data. I have had education about GDPR like I should because of the responsibility of my organization. I know what and how I am authorized to collect data and act with it. For supporting transparency, we use collaborative recording with clients. With this action the data we report is already known by clients.
I started thinking about mailing sensitive information, that makes me question the safeness with personal data. And who is responsible when data get lost? GDPR and technology have really developed sending data.
Talks with ChatGPT
Artificial intelligence is correct when it tells how it could ease the workload in social care specifically from the perspectives of time, resources and information. It could be a necessary factor in employee changes when the information doesn’t switch smoothly or at all from the old employee to the new one, which is common in my work field.
In English answer AI pointed out the needs of training and learning of professionals and how it could be used for that. It points out that AI could not be a manager or a supervisor but more of like a practical coach. This is something we could benefit from because the knowledge management could be improved.
AI sees data protection and confidentiality as special risk factors. It highlights that according to the EU AI Act, child welfare is a high-risk area, which limits use of AI. It recognizes that AI cannot be a decision-maker or replace the work done by humans. AI says that it can support inequality and see things in a skewed way because it learns from history, which is full of structural inequality and oppression.
AI summarizes itself as a medicine when properly dosed helps many and when misused causes serious harm. It recognizes that ethical responsibility is growing but did not point out personal information and privacy issues or any solution for them. AI does not recognize the depth of work. It does not recognize well-being at work or at least does not give any attention to psychosocial stress. When comparing itself to medicine it does not pay attention to the emergence and prevention of problems and just wants to fix them.
Overall, the AI answers were not consistent, the layout of the questions and the chosen language influenced the responses. I was still surprised how advanced the AI answers were.
Self-Assessment
I learned that I am interested in creating the future and I look forward to all the new ways to use technology in social care. What a future profession would be to be able to develop solutions to these challenging human problems. I could use more information about newest technology in my field so I will continue searching for that.
I don’t think that AI or technology will take my job. I think that people in need deserves help quickly, efficiently, sustainably and in the best way possible and if I lose my job, then AI and technology can meet these people’s needs better than I can.
Sources:
Wolford, B. n.d. What is GDPR, the EU’s new data protection law? https://gdpr.eu/what-is-gdpr/ Referred to: 25.1.2026
Virtanen, J. 2025. Mitä tapahtuu, kun tekoäly yhdistetään nuorten mielenterveyteen? https://mieli.fi/artikkelit/tekoaly/ Referred to: 25.1.2026
I commented:
https://blogi.savonia.fi/siljaheliste/digi-society/
https://blogi.savonia.fi/mikkosblog/digi-society/
I share the same sentiments with you. In my profession as a nurse, we also have a variety of digital technologies that we use daily. Some of the digital tools that I have used have helped me immensely in making my work faster and easier. And I also feel that these electronics, digital gadgets, and machines have made treatment more precise, efficient, and effective. It had greatly improved the prognosis and recovery of patients. However, the downside is that we lose sight of the interpersonal connection we can have with our patients. Also, these digital technologies, no matter how advanced they are, are still prone to malfunction and defects that are not easily remedied by ordinary staff nurses like me. We still need to call for help from an I.T. professional or technician. There is also the real threat of data mishandling or unintentional leakage, which requires additional training on data privacy and protection. However, I still believe that this technology has made significant and overwhelming improvements in healthcare in general, and there are definitely ways to improve it.
Hi,
I enjoyed reading your reflection and it is very relatable. I like how you connect digital tools directly to your work in social care. Your examples of supporting youth online and Sekasin-bot shows how technology can help people while still keeping ethics and privacy in mind. Your points about AI limits, ethical use, and the importance of human judgment are very real. It’s easy to see that you understand both the benefits and challenges of digitalization in your field.
The reflection is thoughtful, practical, and easy to read. It really shows how digital tools are changing work while keeping the human side in focus.
Thank you for your well-written and personal reflection. Your text was easy to approach and described the impact of digitalization on everyday work in the social sector in a very concrete way. In my opinion, you succeeded particularly well in highlighting both the benefits and the challenges of digitalization, such as the burden of systems and how they can take time away from actual client work.
I especially appreciated how you described working with young people and the role of digital channels in supporting mental health. Anonymity and low-threshold services are clearly important factors that can make it easier to seek help. At the same time, you realistically pointed out that technology can support, but not replace, an individual’s own process and human interaction. This perspective was very important and added depth to your text.
I also agree with Jordan’s comment that while digital tools can make work more efficient and precise, they may also weaken interpersonal interaction. This is clearly a shared challenge across many fields, including health and social care. In addition, the vulnerability of technology and data security risks he mentioned are highly relevant and highlight the need for continuous training and competence development.
It is also easy to agree with Elizabeth’s observations. Your text combines practical examples with a broader understanding of digitalization very well. The section about the Sekasin-bot was particularly interesting, as it shows how artificial intelligence can be used in an ethically sustainable way. It is important that such solutions take into account privacy, transparency and the role of human judgment in decision-making.
Thank you!
Thank you for your text!
First of all, I can relate to your text in the sense that I have used digital systems throughout my entire working career, so I have never really had to specifically learn how to use them.
You also made a good point when you wrote about how digital services can help with the fear of social situations, although such services are not always available.
As a social services professional myself, I am not afraid that artificial intelligence will take over my job. I believe that people will still need genuine encounters and human interaction, not just conversations with a faceless AI.
Hi! Your blog post revealed, how digitalization has been at the same time effective “work booster” and also making some components of the working area difficult by adding log-ins to different systems, that as pointed out, don´t speak with each other. This meaning that the data doesn´t shift from one system to another. I´m a little worried about using AI in mental health problems, I´m a bit old school because the way I think, that genuine encounters, as Veera commented, are still needed and should be the primary way to encounter.
Your post was very well constructed and interesting to read, it left a lot to think about, thank you!