Page 6 - Tina Morlock - How to Avoid Slacktivism

It’s likely that many of the participants were slacktivists that were only sharing links or liking
content on other activists’ pages. Because this type of activity wasn’t measured, we can’t say for
sure, but we can decide that more could have been done. And, just because change can’t be
forced by sharing an article or an online petition, it doesn’t mean that Facebook can’t be an
effective tool for your use in your own social campaign.

The critique of ineffectiveness, most recently offered by Malcolm Gladwell in The
New Yorker, concentrates on examples of what has been termed “slacktivism,”
whereby casual participants seek social change through low-cost activities, such as
joining Facebook’s “Save Darfur” group, that are long on bumper-sticker sentiment
and short on any useful action. The critique is correct but not central to the question of
social media’s power; the fact that barely committed actors cannot click their way to a
better world does not mean that committed actors cannot use social media effectively.
Recent protest movements—including a movement against fundamental vigilantes in
India in 2009, the beef protests in South Korea in 2008, and protests against educational
laws in Chile in 2006—have used social media not as a replacement for real-world action
but as a way to coordinate it. (Shirky 28)

If you look at the big picture, change is possible when you change your perspective about
Facebook. Don’t look at it as the only way to reach your audience. Create an entire plan that
involves more than just sharing articles, asking for donations, or creating a Facebook group.
These things will help your cause, but if you stop there, so does your cause.