Using Artistic Expression to Overcome Computer Anxiety: A Productive Partnership

by

Linda Turner

          Most people who choose social work as their career do so because they are attracted by the possibility of being of assistance to others.  In their day to day work, it is true that social workers spend much of their time hearing about the needs, the challenges and the structural barriers which make it difficult for individuals and communities to attain the same quality of life that many of us enjoy.  Social workers are taught to view individuals with problems within an environmental context which itself contributes to certain members of society being disadvantaged.  Through the use of problem-solving skills, social workers accompany their clients toward enhancing capacities on a personal level (Gibelman, 1998). Social workers also contribute to societal changes which aim toward the creation of a more just and humane society (Mullaly, 1993).

          The introduction of the computer to the workplace has transformed the daily working lives of all social workers.  Some of those changes have been extremely positive.  For example, it is now possible to attain information on various problems and effective strategies for dealing with many issues very quickly.  This results in a higher quality of service toward clients.

          Case records can now be kept in a much more organized system, and the need to input data through a keyboard has put an end to problems of illegibility of case notes.  Also, communication with colleagues and supervisors can be more time efficient thanks to electronic mail which invites greater efficiency in sending requests and receiving feedback.

          Other changes which have occurred as a result of the integration of computer technology into the world of social work have brought about a more negative impact on both workers and clients.  Confidentiality, a concept which is in the forefront of the Social Work profession’s Code of Ethics and which is essential to creating an atmosphere of trust between client and worker, is more difficult to ensure when other service providers have the potential to gain access to file notes through computer systems.  In giving up the traditional file cabinets with lock and key in favour of the computer file storage system, the profession has forfeited absolute assurance of confidentiality.

          Another negative impact of the heightened use of computers by social workers is the reality that an enormous amount of time must be spent inputting data and responding to the hordes of e-mail messages which are sent, some which are relevant and some which are not. Workers who have not had opportunities to gain keyboarding skills can waste long hours typing responses and case notes, while the personal contact with clients on their caseload suffers.  The social work skills in interpersonal communication, conflict resolution and problem solving sit idle while the worker communes with a computer screen instead.

          There are many other advantages and disadvantages to the infiltration of computers into the work lives of social workers, however in this paper I will focus on the fears and anxieties with which many social workers greet their office computer. I will first explain the context within which a colleague and I became aware of a disdain for computers which inhabits many students in the Bachelor of Social Work program at our university.  Next I will describe how a classroom assignment which invites the students to use and display creativity helps them to face up to their fears and anxieties.  Finally, I will refer to several writers who provide a theoretical foundation which supports the use of creativity and metaphors to reveal personal levels of meaning.

Social Workers and their fears of computer technology

          Sandra deVink, a colleague and faculty member of the Department of Social Work at St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada, has taught a course in field placement preparation (the practical component to the curriculum) for Bachelor level Social Work students for several years.  In the fall of 1999, we co-taught the course.  One of the assignments asks students to identify one area of strength and one area of weakness within themselves which may impact on how they practice social work.  Some of the areas commonly selected as both strengths and weaknesses are time management skills, self-care, public speaking, communication, and technology. 

          In the class we were teaching, the predominant area of weakness chosen was technology, with a decided focus being computer technology.  This strong bias toward associating computer technology with an area of weakness has consistently surfaced in the other classes which Professor deVink has taught over the years.

          To those who might find fear or loathing of technology surprising or amusing among human service professionals, the literature provides evidence that this phenomenon is more widespread than in the realm being described.  Kren and Christakes (1988), for example, in a section of their book entitled “The Scholar and the Fear of Technology”, write:

Among scholars of the humanities a prevailing self-created stereotype portrays the scholar as an intellectual who must demonstrably be incompetent when it comes to practical activities. This view includes an outspoken hostility towards technology, perceived in some sense as dehumanizing.  This attitude has led to a rejection of typewriters for writing, a rejection of cameras, and now to a rejection of microcomputers. Some scholars take an inordinate pride in statements that the computer is above and beyond them, a soul-destroying instrument not fit for truly creative work.” (p. 21).

          Likewise, in an article discussing the computer’s value in long-term care facilities for the elderly, Tedrink & Green (1995), acknowledge that “For some staff it creates an immediate phobia, and the thought of older residents wanting to learn to operate a computer is a notion hard for many to imagine” (p. 161).  The authors go on to discuss the experiences of an activity professional in an institution, describing her experience in the following way:

“Initially her feeling toward the department’s new computer was one of trepidation. With practice and a plan of gradual, incremental steps and built-in success, Sortais was able to overcome her fears and view the device as an indispensable part of her daily routine....It was shown that activity directors can also put the computer to good use in care plans, charting and progress notes, and in tabulating participants’ records. Letters, thank-you notes, and other routine forms of correspondence, posters and banners, and standard word-processing capabilities are additional uses...” (p. 162).

The Poster assignment

          The students were required to create a poster which would enable them to talk about their area of weakness.  They used symbols, images cut out of magazines, hand-drawn sketches, words and colour to depict the emotions associated with using computers.  Some of the images are quite humourous, but reflect the deep frustration which they experience. In one case a student named the monster in her computer “Technologeeiahh...” and said he was being held hostage in the internet, thus affecting anything she tried to do with it.  Another student included “Under Construction” signs to indicate it is an area she is working on, while another portrayed someone with a hammer and the related message was “This is what I feel like doing to technology!” Another student attached a fly swatter and explained that it is her weapon for things that “bug” her, like computer technology! Other imagery that was used in relation to how students felt about computer technology were dark clouds, roller coasters and tangled webs.

          In spite of all of the metaphorical representations which reflect frustration and fear with computers, students almost always concluded their presentation on a positive note.  Most identified achievable goals for themselves, and expressed an attitude of wanting to master computer technology.  One student asserted that in spite of challenges she faced in dealing with the computer, she was committed to maintaining an attitude of wanting to learn. Another student concluded her presentation by stating that she was ready to "feel the fear but do it anyway”, and was determined to overcome a paranoia that she could break something on her computer. Others admitted that while they did not feel a kindred spirit with computers, they did recognize their need to grow to a place where they could use it to their advantage.

Theoretical validation for the metaphorical presentation of personal meaning

          What is so significant about inviting students, or any group of people, to use creativity to express their feelings and fears, as we have done with social work students around the issue of computers? One straightforward response is that as human beings, many of us are extremely comfortable expressing ourselves through means other than that which is most privileged: the spoken word.  For some, writing out thoughts and feelings is an experience which lends itself much more easily to a flow of meaning than when the same individuals would be asked to speak. 

          Using images, symbols and metaphors takes that premise another step further, and permits one’s inner world to attain a place on center stage.  Offering pictures and drawings about how we feel creates a more amenable and casual atmosphere within which students at least, (and there is no reason to doubt that it would be true for the rest of us) are better able to share from their own experience. 

          MacCormac (1976), in his work Metaphor and myth in science and religion, acknowledges the historical devaluing of metaphor as a vessel for meaning and knowledge.  He provides a context, however, within which the use of metaphor and symbolism can regain its credibility, when he writes: “Since theology and science deal with mystery — we will never fully know either the ultimate purpose of life or the ultimate nature of the world — the very act of giving an explanation will be imaginative and creative in both cases.”  It follows that encouraging students to express themselves in the “imaginative and creative” ways described earlier in the paper are justifiable — in the absence of concrete absolute truths and absolute realities of human experience, there is already a fertile terrain within which to plant seeds of creative expression.   

          Many students have commented that the creative process involved in developing the posters was also of value to them.  It is useful to consider that both the products created and the processes which occur as one engages in selecting images and organizing them in an artistic fashion are not pre-determined nor do they result from a conscious procession of thought.  Joas (1996) speaks of Dewey’s conceptualization of creativity in this regard: “...we do not imagine artistic creation as the objectification of contents of meaning which are already present in finished form in the inner world of the creative subject...Rather, Dewey sees art as evolving out of a collision between sedimented, pre-cognitive experiences and reality” (Joas, 1996, p. 141). This would seem to indicate that part of the significance of the students being required to creatively express their fears and weaknesses is that the activity may conjure up some sentiments and recognitions of which they were not consciously aware.  Through facing our fears and anxieties as they become expressed in a creative process, we are far better prepared to develop strategies with which to greet them. Professor deVink and I witnessed this assertive stance in the conclusions drawn by several students.

          As a faculty which prepares future social workers, one of our goals is to encourage continual self-examination and constant self-improvement.  Speaking on expression as a metaphor for creativity, Joas (1996) writes:

We accept a greater or lesser part of what we generate spontaneously as an appropriate expression of our being and accord this expression a level of recognition which we deny to other parts.  It is only in the same process in which we realize ourselves that we become aware of the self that we are realizing” (p. 81).

          Assignments and exercises which invite greater expression during the educational process can serve as vehicles for the students to better know the selves who they are becoming. Such activities can also lead to the confidence and courage to face up to fears and anxieties around areas of weakness, so that students are better supported on their journeys to becoming professional members of their chosen careers.

References

Gibelman, M. (1998). What social workers do. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Joas, H. (1996). The Creativity of action. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Kren, G. & Christakes, G. (1988). Scholars and personal computers. New York: Human Sciences Press, Inc.

MacCormac (1976). Metaphor and myth in science and religion. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press.

Mullaly, R. (1993). Structural social work: Ideology, theory, and practice. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.

Tedrick, T. & Green, E. (1995). Activity experiences and programming within long-term care. State College, PA: Venture.