Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Based Youth Counselling in Zimbabwe: Benefits, Challenges, and Ethical Issues

Abstract

The study sought to assess the effectiveness of information and communication technology (ICT) based youth counselling
in Zimbabwe. The study aimed at identifying the platforms used in ICT-based youth counselling, exploring the advantages and
disadvantages of ICT-based youth counselling and examining the ethical issues surrounding this phenomenon. The study adopted a
mixed-methods approach where qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated, and an exploratory case study design was employed. Focus group discussions, structured questionnaires and one-to-one interviews were used to get data from a sample of 142 participants. The study found that social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Short Message Service, and voice calls were used to administer ICT-based youth counselling in Zimbabwe. These come with the pros of being cheap, convenient, and offering user anonymity. Youths prefer using WhatsApp more than other platforms. ICT’s reliance on mobile network provision and electricity is a major drawback to this kind of counselling. Ethical issues such as competency and confidentiality apply to ICT-based youth
counselling. Overall, ICT-based counselling was found to be very effective in administering youth counselling. It is therefore
recommended that the education curriculum for counsellors should include ICT-based counselling, and professional bodies for
counsellors should consider the ethical issues involved in ICT-based counselling.