Social Solutions

Time to kick it old school.

How do we navigate as leaders in public discourse during a time when there are so many voices? Technology and the various platforms are overwhelming: blogs, podcasts, social media, video messages, etc. Sometimes you must go backward to move forward, like an intricate game of chess where you sacrifice perceived forward momentum to deploy strategy to win the game. It is time for leaders in social change to go old school and start having face to face conversations. Albeit a pandemic is a good way to stop traction on kicking it old school, but maybe this should be a time to reflect. Social problems are about people, what better way to start moving the pendulum than to reevaluate how we engage communities in social change. Technology has its place and can be a tool to encourage and promote face time, but should this be where we champion change? Let’s leverage the ability of Social Work to deploy leaders with honed interpersonal communication skills to have face to face conversations. Do what we do best- break down barriers of miscommunication, find common ground, make it personal and about the person. Snippets of information out there on various virtual platforms provide backup for bigoted and discriminatory views. You can find someone who reaffirms personal beliefs and never seek to challenge them with the swipe of a button. You cannot swipe a person in front of you if you don’t like what they say. Maybe it’s time we use technology to rally social workers to deploy face to face tactics, play the long game and achieve a world of peace and equity for all.