Activism or slacktivism? What does all that online sharing really amount to?
Every second of the day, 6,000 tweets are sent from accounts around the world, according to internet live stats.
Not to mention Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, YouTube, the current wealth of social media platforms means it is easier now than ever before for us to publicise every brief thought that enters our minds, and comment on every minor occurrence.
In a recent New York Timesarticle, novelist Salvatore Scibona writes, “previously remote controversies now feel so much a part of our lives as to demand that we do something, now, about all of them.”
We are now so heavily immersed in the web and all it contains, that it is almost a knee jerk reaction to send that effortless angry comment in response to the video of the old man shouting at someone on the tube.
While the criticism may well be deserved, how much good is this really doing? Scibona writes, “the most devoted activist can help fix only a small portion of what offends his conscience. To rage at the rest serves his desire to act, but it doesn’t change anything. It is a refusal to acknowledge the limits of his power.”
Slacktivism
While the online world makes so much available to us, this does not mean we are capable of committing ourselves to more causes than before. Constantly sharing videos on your Facebook profile of a dog that has been abused somewhere across the world, plastic dumped in the ocean, or random misogyny, accompanied by the caption “disgusting” does nothing but lead to hard-core slacktivism.
Clicking “share” or angry reacting will not save the world. However, we seem to spend a significant amount of our time doing this, while failing to actually follow up and take action on said causes.
So rather than annoying your Facebook friends with another video shared on your latest disgust for a cause you will have forgotten about next week, gear your passions efficiently. If you wish to be an activist, pick your battles and fight them whole heartedly. Select the causes you care the most about and get involved to make a real difference. Don’t waste your time and energy on random angry reacts.
