Introduction

As changes in technology create new ways of communicating, relating, living and being, they offer new opportunities and also generate new risks and ethical challenges. Indeed, technology impacts and transforms every aspect of people's lives, including the meaning of childhood, parenting, friendships, relationships, education, work, play, leisure, privacy, identity, equality and the very notion of humanness. Previous chapters have examined the different ways technology impacts social work and social care practice and education. This concluding chapter briefly examines some of the ways the developments in digital and social media technologies may impact and change social work and social care practice and education in coming years.

Evolution of the web

Although most conversations about the web are focused on web 2.0, part of the technology for web 3.0 and web 4.0 are already in use today. The evolution of the web has a significant impact on every aspect of life, including health, social work and social care. Let us briefly consider what we mean by the successive versions of the web.

Web 1.0 was the web of content and documents. It was mostly used as an information focused, one-way communication tool. It was built around the ‘home page’ and accumulation and ownership of content. At its best, it functioned like a telephone directory or the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Web 2.0 is the ‘social web’ of communication and people. It is a two-way medium that is interactive and communityfocused, and is built around sharing of content and information. Social media, wikis, mashups, and different SNS are examples of web 2.0.

Web 3.0 or the ‘internet of things’ is the web of context and data, focused on individuals and personalisation. Web 3.0 is built around Life Streams and user behaviour and offers contextual content. Google search is an example of web 3.0. With web 3.0 everything from the cooker, coffee maker and toaster to light bulbs and car keys, not just phones and computers, will have microchips, sensors and IP addresses and be connected in a web. This means they can be managed remotely and stream data to services that can improve and be optimised over time using that data.