5 www.digital-youth.eu In Greece, youth workers see digital tools as a means to make work more enriching, but not as a substitute or replacement. Current Status of Digital Youth Work in Ireland In Ireland, practical demonstration activities and various digital media are being used more frequently to engage young people. There is a preference for non-formal education, as it offers better learning environments, making it more attractive to work with young people. Youth workers often encounter difficult challenges and difficulties in working with young people. These include managing telephone use, social media use, cyberbullying, anxiety after COVID-19 and funding and accessing resources. In Ireland, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected youth work, as most youth centres had to close, which greatly restricted physical contact with young people and, to a large extent, face-to-face interaction. After the lifting of restrictions in Ireland, youth workers continued to find it difficult to re-engage young people in face-to-face activities. Therefore, youth workers find the implementation of digital tools a vital part of the constant use of current technology to better connect and engage with young people. Also, this would facilitate learning for young people with physical disabilities. These digital tools have come to prominence during the pandemic and have shown youth workers how they can be used in face-to-face settings. It is hoped that, in the future, youth work can adapt to ICT technologies, including the incorporation of blended learning, hybrid learning and gaming resources into youth work practice. Current status of Digital Youth Work in Spain The main challenges identified in Spain are the transformation of youth work into digital youth work and the use of digital tools. There is a great need to combat the youth population's demotivation, primarily caused by the high unemployment rates in the south of Spain and the consequent emigration to other European countries. The potential in digital youth work is recognised, and this enables deeper cooperation between young people and youth workers. However, some challenges are also seen in the lack of digital skills and competences to handle the new dynamics that digital youth work brings. Many Spanish organisations are already fast catching up with digital work, creating good adaptive jobs. But it is still important to create tools that reduce overstimulation and excessive hours with digital devices among young people.
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