Slacktivism: what is it? It’s “the practice of supporting a political or social cause by means such as social media or online petitions, characterized as involving very little effort or commitment” as defined by Oxford. Basically, it’s supporting a cause but putting in very little effort to actually making any change. This usually means resorting to social media to post or repost content about a cause and doing nothing further.
Although slacktivism alludes to the passivity around social change, it’s also important to acknowledge the positive aspects it brings forth. Most apparent is the fact that it encourages discourse around the subject and brings awareness to the public who may not have heard about the cause before. For example, posting a graphic that roughly explains climate change on your Instagram story will definitely spark interest amongst a few people and will perhaps lead them to look into the issue. They may even repost the graphic. This cycle will definitely spread information to others and could also lead to more notable actions by others who either donate or volunteer on behalf of the cause. But the keyword to note here is “could.”
What’s vital is the active versus the passive. With social media in today’s day, it’s easier than ever to like or share or post – you don’t even have to go through the effort of composing a message on your own because it’s already been done by someone else. Even if you do genuinely care about a certain cause and the only thing you do to support it is taking to social media, you can get lost in the sea of people who only partake in it because they’re essentially hopping on the “social activism bandwagon.” It adds to the loss of authenticity and drowns out the genuine efforts of those who are active in ways including fundraising and organizing events that get others involved.
Another issue with online activism is that it quickly peaks and then dwindles away. This also has to do with the disingenuous efforts from those who feel like could be ridiculed if they’re not in some way taking part in posting about these causes. Take for example the 2014 #BringBackOurGirls campaign to save two hundred Nigerian girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram. Millions of people took part in posting about it, including celebrities, but, to this day, the girls were never found. At the peak of the social media campaign, it seemed like there was hope in finding these girls, but ultimately, word spread and was soon after forgotten.
Many slacktivists put forward the excuse that they don’t have the money to donate to these social causes, so instead resort to posting about the cause online. While this is definitely better than doing nothing, it’s also very likely that is possible to donate five dollars and skip out on purchasing a Starbuck’s coffee one day. Plus, if you don’t want to put forward your money, you can donate some of your time to volunteering for the cause.
Considering all of this, slacktivism alone isn’t enough to evoke change, but it still plays a part in helping. If you are passionate about numerous causes, it makes sense that you wouldn’t be as invested in all of them, but as long as you choose the active over the passive in some cases, you’re doing your part!