This publication aims to contribute to the social science question regarding the societal significance of media for the life design and coping strategies of the target groups of social work. Starting from the communication science description of society as mediated, common starting conditions of media education and social work are outlined. In particular, the action-oriented approach of media education and the life-world-oriented approach of social work reveal programmatic parallels. Based on the practical fields and tasks of social work, it is emphasized that media educational approaches and topics should be considered a fundamental prerequisite for the profession in the future. Building on this, the academic training situation of professionals is examined.