Final Reflection

Generally speaking, the Four Futures depict four potential future states depending on changes in society in two crucial domains: the degree of government involvement and economic advancement. 

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According to the Council on Social Work Education, Social workers are leading national, international, and local initiatives to address the nation's widening class divide and increasing levels of inequality. They are also assisting the country in navigating its shifting demographic diversity.   When imagining the future of social work, it is important to take social and economic structures into account.  If we do not take these things into account, there is a possibility that our social structure could collapse.

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Future social workers can better modify their methods to fit the requirements of future societies—whether it's guiding people through a dystopian nightmare or creating a flourishing utopia—by being aware of these possible outcomes.  

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I would like to see a future with strong social safety guidelines and an increasing positive economic boom.  I also would like to see a strong economy, but where the social issues market might be left more to qualified social workers, than life coaches or persons seeking advice from persons on social media.  I would like to see a society where everyone has access to affordable digital products.  

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When thinking about how I would revise the current Four Futures paper, I would have narrowed the time frame to more like 2030, instead of 2050.  There are so many things that have changed in our society that the Futures Task Force cannot possibly think that social workers would use the same practices in 2050 as in 2018.  During the pandemic social work practices dramatically changed from the traditional framework of social work.  Many social workers and public health workers had to learn to use digital products in order to do their jobs.  More classes and ethical guidelines were created to protect social workers and clients when receiving digital services.  I don’t think that the Task Force had any idea that the COvid-19 Pandemic would have the detriment on society and mental health that it did.  I am going to try to find an updated Task Force Report that discusses the effect that the pandemic had on social work.