Paper Example on Slacktivism

Introduction

Slacktivism refers to showing support to a social cause involving limited efforts by the participants. With the current technology and easy access to social media, slacktivism has become very popular. The word slacktivism is a combination of two English words: slacking and activism. Slacktivism involves a minimal effort by the participant such as signing online petitions, copying and pasting social network links and statuses, or joining specific social networking groups. A study done by the University of British Columbia showed that people who participated in Slacktivism were less likely to participate in more meaningful causes in the future compared to someone who had not participated in Slacktivism at all (Essig, 2014). Slacktivism is mainly a boost to the participant's egos, as the participants in most cases lack engagement and commitment to the outcome of the actions are of no use in regards to promoting the cause.

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The difference between Slacktivism and activism is that the participants in Slacktivism do not need to appear physically be heard. Slacktivism only works on social media and the participants have to post, repost, retweet, like pages, or share links to a specific cause. Activism, on the other hand, involves full participation by the people involved. Activism involves public rallies and meetings, fasting, canvassing door-to-door and peaceful demonstrations.

Slacktivism gets considered less effective than activism because people involved in the offline actions do not put much time, effort, and finances in support of the cause. Thus it becomes difficult for ordinary people to follow up on the process and outcome of the reasons that they support online. The activists, on the other hand, put their time and energy in lobbying, marching, and protesting, which may affect the outcomes since they can go to where the issues occurred and deal with them (Thitivesa, 2017).

Slacktivist campaigns have been going on all over social media, and although some may not affect people in real life, some of these campaigns have brought positive change, and the causes supported changed the lives of many people. For example, is the equal red sign on Facebook which was a human rights campaign advocating for equal rights for LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) people. The campaign posted a symbol of an equal pink sign placed on a red background to mobilize their online supporters as the United States Supreme Court's hearings proceeded to urge supporters to use the symbol as their Facebook profile picture. Over 2.7 million Facebook users across the United States changed their profile pictures to this symbolic picture (Kleinman, 2013). Although changing the profile picture to the equal sign did not affect the court's decision in the matter, the support the LGBTQ community got from Facebook users had a positive effect for them.

The Moustache Movember campaign is also an example of slacktivism that has brought positive change to the society. The campaign began in 2004 with a group of 30 men from Melbourne Australia who agreed to grow a mustache for 30 days to awareness of prostate cancer. By 2007, the campaign had expanded to over ten countries across the world. So far, the campaign has raised 350 million pounds that funded 800 programs in 21 countries around the globe (Omniscient, 2016). Those who took part in the campaign helped raise awareness about prostate cancer by sharing pictures of themselves and messages on social media. More men went for checkups, and others were interested to know more about prostate cancer and how they can avoid it.

Kony 2012 was started by Jason Russell who made a video about Kony, a Ugandan citizen who took small children and trained them to be soldiers for war. The video had over 43 million views on YouTube within three days (Bailyn, 2012). Within a week, Kony had become famous and was trending globally. The story became a news headline for all of the mainstream media. Slacktivism, in this case, had a significant impact on the cause. One post led to the world knowing about a breach of human rights that had previously been a secret. Through sharing and reposting, the world came to know about the existence of Kony.

Some activist's campaigns have brought more harm than good to their causes. An example of the #bringbackourgirls campaign started on social media after a terror group called Boko Haram abducted 276 girls in Nigeria from a boarding school in 2014. The hashtag "bring back our girls" went viral on social media. Former first lady Michelle Obama also participated in the #bringbackourgirls campaign via social media. According to a former Boko Haram member Fulan Nasrullah, the group saw the real value of the girls after they saw the post by Michelle Obama. They realized they could use the girls as an advantage for their negotiations. It has been more than four years since the kidnapping. 57 of the girls have escaped, and 107 have been released, but the group still has 112 of the girls, 19 of these girls' parents have already died. This campaign is an example of how slactivism brings harm to the cause. Maybe if the Boko Haram had not seen the post, the abducted girls would have been released and reunited with their families. In this case, activism would be the best approach.

Conclusion

Slacktivism has become popular now that anyone can own a phone or a computer and get easy access to social media. Today, people will support a cause they know nothing about by just a click on their computers. Most of the people do not take the time to see the truth behind what they agree to or repost for their followers to read. Talking about an issue on social media or changing one's profile picture to support a cause brings attention to problems that need to get addressed. The difference between Slacktivism and activism is that activists follow up to make sure the issues get resolved. Slacktivists, on the other hand, do their part by liking, retweeting or sharing a post, and that is all. There are no follow-ups or actions taken to address the issues in question.

Some of the people who participate in this Slacktivism do not even understand the cause they are supporting and instead, do exactly as their friends do or participate to get more popular on social media (Seay, 2014). Online activism does not provide solutions to the causes. Slacktivism only brings the attention needed to the problem, and at times, the attention brought to the issues may make the situation worse, for example, the #bringbackourgirls post by Michelle Obama. This kind of activism offers limited value to the cause. To make a real difference, online activists must do more than have social interactions. Since online activism may help significantly to spread the news fast across the world, activists would be of more help to the causes they believe in by becoming activists. Marching and lobbying on the streets about their issues would be more effective than tweeting and sharing them on Facebook.

References

Kleinman, A. (2013, March 29). Huff Post. Retrieved from How The Red Equal Sign Took Over Facebook, According To Facebook's Data: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/red-equal-sign-facebook_n_2980489.html

Seay, L. (2014, March 12). The Washington Post. Retrieved from Does slacktivism work?: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/03/12/does-slacktivism-work/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.13cf805ab9a4

Thitivesa, V. (2017, October 16). Medium. Retrieved from Social Change, Political Participation, and Slacktivism: https://medium.com/@vorapilailuckthi/social-change-political-participation-and-slacktivism-328ffe693366