Slacktivism, Freind or Foe?

                For this blog I have the topic of slacktivism, a topic which has garnered much negativity. Slacktivism is any acts that gain support or attention to a cause with very little effort. A lot of people believe that slacktivism is something that started on the internet by liking and sharing posts regarding their cause or by emailing a petition. However, it has been around longer than that with bumper stickers and signs on people’s lawns. To help me form an opinion and understand more about the effects of slacktivism according to different perspectives, I decided to take a couple articles that expressed opposite views on the topic.

                According to the article “Clicktivism is ruining leftist activism” by Micah White (2010), slacktivism works against their causes by diminishing the efforts of other forms of activism. He says it is based on the ideology of marketing and that it uses the same software used in email marketing campaigns to track its progress. He feels that slacktivism can turn a cause into a novelty that will eventually wear off, causing people to no longer care about it. In turn, this apathy would mean that nobody would make any real effort to do something that would have a much greater impact.

                In support of slacktivism Katya Andresen states in her article “Why Slacktivism Is Underrated” (2011) that slacktivism is much more effective than people think. She even supports her opinion with research from a study by Georgetown University’s Center for Social Impact Communication and Ogilvy Worldwide in 2010. According to the study, people who frequently engaged in slacktivism were twice as likely to volunteer their time, take part in events like charity walks, three times as likely to solicit donations on behalf of their cause, and more than four times as likely to encourage others to sign a petition or contact political representatives. The point she makes with this article is that, just because people are doing something that is easy, it doesn’t mean that they are not going to do more.

                After analyzing the two articles, I have come to see slacktivism as beneficial. People live busy lives and sometimes liking a post about their cause is the most they have time or money for. They want to show that they believe in something and would do anything they can to show their support, even if that effort seems minimal, it still may be the best they can do. Other people may not care so strongly for it, but want to show that they are not against it and will not oppose a movement for that cause. Then there is the fact that people feel strength in numbers. When a petition goes around and gets a lot of signatures, it helps people gain the confidence to stand up and do something about it because they know that there are others who feel the same way and that the opposition is not as strong. So even though some may call it lazy, I believe that slacktivism could be very motivational for some and allows people to know that they won’t be an outcast if they speak out for what they believe in.

References

White, M. (2010, August 12). Clicktivism is ruining leftist activism. Retrieved November 8, 2015.

Andresen, K. (2011, October 24).Why Slacktivism Is Underrated. Retrieved November 8, 2015.