Image: quickmeme.com
It’s no secret that our world is increasingly becoming more and more reliant upon digital technology in our daily lives. Within the past twenty years, simple tasks such as ordering meals, watching television shows and movies, even making charitable donations can be performed from the comfort of your smartphone or in front of your computer. Even social media and networking websites have made it easier to reach out to others and build relationships. Charities and social causes have taken to social media and networking websites to raise awareness of their cause and generate more supporters. While more and more non-profit organizations and social causes have taken to social media to corral users into helping and showing their support by clicking on the like button on Facebook or retweeting their latest tweet, such actions are causing more harm than progress. Obviously, it will take a lot more than a like to instigate social change but these methods of giving back are breeding a new type of activist called – the Slacktivist.
What is Slacktivism?
The Oxford English dictionary defined slacktivism as such: actions performed via Internet in support of a political or social cause but regarded as requiring little time or involvement, e.g. signing an online petition or joining a campaign group on a social media website. This type of activism provides a low-risk, low-cost, technology-mediated participation for the user without demanding much from them in return. Considering the G20 riots in Toronto in June 2010, it’s easy to see why this form of activism is appealing. Why go to a protest and risk being on the receiving end of police brutality when sharing a picture or news link onto a social media platform will suffice? Asking a celebrity that you follow on Twitter to retweet on behalf of a fundraiser is an act of slacktivism. Sharing a picture of a smiling survivor of a terminal illness who’s asking for 10,000 likes for not dying is also slacktivism. Slacktivism is a type of feel-good anonymous altruism without the meaningful impact.
The Grey Area of Slacktivism
While this new type of social activism might not be the ideal method of instigating tangible social progress, it is effective in increasing brand recognition, gaining public attention, and encouraging dialogue regarding these causes. Slacktivism played a huge part in the Arab Spring protests by increasing visibility of national and international priorities, such as political corruption, human rights violations, inflation, and authoritarianism in the Middle East. Since December 2010, uprisings in several countries in the Middle East have resulted in the ousting of authoritarian and corrupt leaders in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen. The wave of protests, demonstrations (both violent and non-violent), rallies, strikes, and civil wars have garnered worldwide attention and extensive coverage of many of the uprisings that are continuing to this day. In this particular case, social media played a crucial role and helped the cause gain momentum and grab international attention from the media. Many of the protests, rallies, and events were organized through Facebook and Twitter to spread awareness while dodging the state-operated media. Other forms of digital technologies – text messages, photos, and videos – illustrated moments during the protests as well as provided live coverage of the problems that the demonstrators are still fighting against in their respective nations. The power of social media allowed the Arab Spring protesters to take matters into their own hands. The internal and external communications between the citizens promoted a type of collective activism that reached thousands of citizens who want to see change for the better in their environments. The use of social media in the Arab Spring uprising led to a democratization of mass media in the Middle East. Even though the uprising is ongoing and over 150,000 have died in the fight, there’s no denying the role social media played in bringing international attention to their struggles.
Image: http://www.hrc.org/viral
Red Equal Signs Goes Viral for Same Sex Marriage
While the use of social media proved effective and powerful in the Arab Spring Uprising, the same cannot be said for the recent Supreme Court hearings of two cases in the pursuit of marriage equality. On March 25, 2013, the Human Rights Campaign Facebook group shared a red and pink version of their logo – an equal sign against a red background – on various social networking websites in support of same sex marriage and urged their followers and fans to change their pictures to the red equal sign. Four days later, Facebook reported 2.7 million users had changed their display pictures to the equal signs. This number included 13 U.S. Congress members and the image went viral throughout the online world. On Twitter, hashtags such as #equality, #DOMA, and #UnitedforMarriage, spurred the conversation of marriage inequality and LGBTQ rights in social media. While the entire campaign was successful in spreading awareness and gathering nationwide supporters for the cause, the gesture wasn’t that conducive in the final decision. Fortunately, the Defense of the Marriage Act was struck down and Proposition 8 has been dismissed. However, it is highly doubtful that the Supreme Court took into consideration the countless millions of those who changed their avatars and display pictures to the red equal signs. In addition, as the red equal sign image went viral, it wasn’t long before parodies of the image surfaced on the internet. The high number of parodies that surfaced on the internet made a complete mockery of it and overshadowed the message behind this iconic image. It’s even highly probable that the users who did change their pictures to the red equal signs were simply doing so because it was a vain attempt at displaying cultural awareness and wanted to join the crowd. This campaign played a minuscule role in the fight for marriage equality. In the larger picture, uploading a new picture had proven to be a largely empty gesture for the cause.
There’s No Shame in Being a Slacktivist
With social media and digital technology being so accessible to the masses, it’s inevitable that social activism will take its cause to where the people are. Within the past few years, wearing a yellow plastic bracelet, wearing a pink ribbon, and growing a moustache have become new ways to show the world that its twenty-first century citizens are still aware of the injustices in the world. There’s no real harm in sharing a link on a news event, liking a photo, or retweeting a tweet in the name of charity. In fact, giving a micro-donation is quickly becoming a trend in donating to a worthy cause. As demonstrated by the Arab Spring uprisings, the traditional forms of activism (sit-ins, strikes, and protests) are still very effective methods in instigating social change. It’s okay to click like on a Facebook post from a charity but remember that there are more proactive ways to give back.
