Slacktivism
Encyclopedia
Slacktivism is a portmanteau formed out of the words slacker
and activism
. The word is usually considered a pejorative term that describes "feel-good" measures, in support of an issue or social cause, that have little or no practical effect other than to make the person doing it feel satisfaction. The acts tend to require minimal personal effort from the slacktivist.
Slacktivist activities include signing Internet petitions, joining a community organization without contributing to the organization's efforts, copying and pasting of Social Network
statuses or messages or altering one's personal data or avatar
on social network service
s.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
describes the term "slacktivist", saying it "posits that people who support a cause by performing simple measures are not truly engaged or devoted to making a change".
People such as Rasmus Kleis Nielsen have suggested bumper stickers and charity bands/ribbons as slacktivism, although this would be a matter of opinion. As a monetary donation is often required to gain these items, it does have a benefit to the charity or cause. It is also worth remembering that some causes can benefit greatly by simply being advertised. However, the most common causes posted about on social networking sites are causes that most people are already aware of; these fit the definition of slacktivism appropriately.
Radio host and political commentator Dan Carlin was using the term on his show in the 1990s and may have coined the present day meaning.
Monty Phan, staff writer for Newsday, was an early user of the term in his 2001 article titled, "On the Net, "Slacktivism' / Do-Gooders Flood In-Boxes" (Phan 2001).
An early example of using the term "slacktivism" appeared in Barnaby Feder's article in The New York Times called "They Weren't Careful What They Hoped For." Feder quoted anti-scam crusader Barbara Mikkelson of Snopes.com, who described activities such as those listed above. "It's all fed by slacktivism ... the desire people have to do something good without getting out of their chair" (Feder 2002).
An example of the term "Slacktivism" appeared in Evgeny Morozov’s book, the Net Delusion: How Not To Liberate the World. In his book, Morozov relates the Colding-Jorgensen experiment to Slacktivism. To explain this further, In 2009, a Danish psychologist Colding Jorgensen (part of his research), created a fictitious Facebook group. On the page, he announced that the Copenhagen city authorities will be demolishing the historical Storck fountain site. The following day, 125 Facebook members joined the Jorgensen’s page. Shortly thereafter, the number of fans grew at a staggering rate, reaching 27,500. For that reason, Morozov argues that “when communication costs are low, groups can easily spring into action.” For that reason, Morozov parallels the Colding Jorgensen experiment to Slacktivism. In addition, Morozov also referenced Clay Shirkey also touched on Slacktivism: “ridiculously easy group forming.”
Yet skepticism of slacktivism’s value certainly exists. Particularly, some argue that it entails an underlying assumption that all problems can be seamlessly fixed using social media, and while this may be true for local issues, slacktivism could prove ineffective for solving global predicaments. In turn, organizationally speaking, slacktivism may result in a “waste of resources, lack of productivity and a risk of liability for the employer.” An NPR piece from 2009 also astutely asks whether "the publicity gains gained through this greater reliance on new media [are] worth the organizational losses that traditional activists entities are likely to suffer, as ordinary people would begin to turn away from conventional (and proven) forms of activism."
Criticism of slacktivism often involves the idea that internet activities are ineffective, and/or that they prevent or lessen political participation in real life. However, as many studies on slacktivism relate only to a specific case or campaign, it is difficult to find an exact percentage of slacktivist actions that reach a stated goal. In addition, studies suggest that "fears of Internet activities supplanting real life activity are unsubstantiated," in that they do not cause a negative or positive effect on political participation.
Malcolm Gladwell
, in his October 2010 Yorker Article, lambasted those who compare social media "revolutions" with actual activism that challenges the status-quo. He argues that today's social media campaigns can't compare with activism that takes place on the ground, using the Greensboro sit-ins
as an example of what real, high-risk activism looks like. "As the historian Robert Darnton
has written, “The marvels of communication technology in the present have produced a false consciousness about the past—even a sense that communication has no history, or had nothing of importance to consider before the days of television and the Internet.” But there is something else at work here, in the outsized enthusiasm for social media. Fifty years after one of the most extraordinary episodes of social upheaval in American history, we seem to have forgotten what activism is.
uses Twitter and other websites to organise protests and direct action against companies accused of tax avoidance.
This varies from slacktivism in that it merely replaces older ways of communicating a protest's existence (telephone, word of mouth, leaflets etc.) and does actually involve a real life, physical protest. On the other hand, clicktivism is also used to describe forms of internet based slacktivism such as signing online petitions or signing and sending form letter emails to politicians or corporate CEOs.
Critics of clicktivism state that this new phenomenon turns social movements to resemble advertising campaigns in which messages are tested, clickthrough rate is recorded, and A/B testing
is often done. In order to improve these metrics, messages are reduced to make their "asks easier and actions simpler." This in turn reduced social action to have members that are a list of email addresses rather than engaged citizens.
Examples of offline charity slacktivism include awareness wristbands and paraphernalia in support of causes, such as the Livestrong wristband
and the Product Red
campaign products, as well as bumper stickers and mobile donating
.
The term slacktivism is often used to describe the world's reaction to the 2010 Haiti earthquake
. The Red Cross managed to raise $5 million in 2 days via text message donations http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-14/tech/cashmore.haiti.earthquake.relief.technology_1_social-media-twitter-and-facebook-text-haiti/2?_s=PM:TECH. Social media outlets were used to spread the word about the earthquake. The day after the earthquake, CNN reported that four of Twitter's top topics were related to the Haitian earthquake http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-14/tech/cashmore.haiti.earthquake.relief.technology_1_social-media-twitter-and-facebook-text-haiti/2?_s=PM:TECH. These impressive responses by the world community were both praised as helpful reactions and condemned as throwing money at a problem that needed a different type of response.
Slacktivists may also purchase a product from a company because it has a history of donating funds to charity, as a way to second-handedly support a cause. For example, a slactivist may buy Ben and Jerry's ice cream because its founders invested in the nation’s children, or promoted social and environmental concerns.
vs
The cause is initially introduced and is visibly supported as a news feed begin populating the same message, but when the message becomes parodied, the initial cause is replaced with something absurd, false, ridiculous or completely unrelated.
Slacker
The term "slacker" is used to refer to a person who habitually avoids work. Slackers may be regarded as belonging to an antimaterialistic counterculture, though in some cases their behavior may be due to other causes ....
and activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
. The word is usually considered a pejorative term that describes "feel-good" measures, in support of an issue or social cause, that have little or no practical effect other than to make the person doing it feel satisfaction. The acts tend to require minimal personal effort from the slacktivist.
Slacktivist activities include signing Internet petitions, joining a community organization without contributing to the organization's efforts, copying and pasting of Social Network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
statuses or messages or altering one's personal data or avatar
Avatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
on social network service
Social network service
A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
s.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, or UNAIDS, is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV epidemic....
describes the term "slacktivist", saying it "posits that people who support a cause by performing simple measures are not truly engaged or devoted to making a change".
People such as Rasmus Kleis Nielsen have suggested bumper stickers and charity bands/ribbons as slacktivism, although this would be a matter of opinion. As a monetary donation is often required to gain these items, it does have a benefit to the charity or cause. It is also worth remembering that some causes can benefit greatly by simply being advertised. However, the most common causes posted about on social networking sites are causes that most people are already aware of; these fit the definition of slacktivism appropriately.
Use of the Term
The term appears to have been coined by Dwight Ozard and Fred Clark in 1995 at the Cornerstone Festival. The term was meant to shorten the phrase slacker activism, which refers to bottom up activities by young people to affect society on a small, personal scale (such as planting a tree, as opposed to participating in a protest). The term originally had a positive connotation.Radio host and political commentator Dan Carlin was using the term on his show in the 1990s and may have coined the present day meaning.
Monty Phan, staff writer for Newsday, was an early user of the term in his 2001 article titled, "On the Net, "Slacktivism' / Do-Gooders Flood In-Boxes" (Phan 2001).
An early example of using the term "slacktivism" appeared in Barnaby Feder's article in The New York Times called "They Weren't Careful What They Hoped For." Feder quoted anti-scam crusader Barbara Mikkelson of Snopes.com, who described activities such as those listed above. "It's all fed by slacktivism ... the desire people have to do something good without getting out of their chair" (Feder 2002).
An example of the term "Slacktivism" appeared in Evgeny Morozov’s book, the Net Delusion: How Not To Liberate the World. In his book, Morozov relates the Colding-Jorgensen experiment to Slacktivism. To explain this further, In 2009, a Danish psychologist Colding Jorgensen (part of his research), created a fictitious Facebook group. On the page, he announced that the Copenhagen city authorities will be demolishing the historical Storck fountain site. The following day, 125 Facebook members joined the Jorgensen’s page. Shortly thereafter, the number of fans grew at a staggering rate, reaching 27,500. For that reason, Morozov argues that “when communication costs are low, groups can easily spring into action.” For that reason, Morozov parallels the Colding Jorgensen experiment to Slacktivism. In addition, Morozov also referenced Clay Shirkey also touched on Slacktivism: “ridiculously easy group forming.”
Defense and criticism
Despite the connotations of the term, a recent correlational study conducted by Georgetown University entitled “The Dynamics of Cause Engagement” determined that so-called slacktivists are indeed “more likely to take meaningful actions.” Notably, “slacktivists participate in more than twice as many activities as people who don’t engage in slacktivism, and their actions “have a higher potential to influence others.” Cited benefits of slacktivism in achieving clear objectives include creating a secure, low cost, effective means of organizing that are environmentally friendly. These "social champions" have the ability to directly link social media engagement with responsiveness, leveraging their transparent dialogue into economic, social or political action.Yet skepticism of slacktivism’s value certainly exists. Particularly, some argue that it entails an underlying assumption that all problems can be seamlessly fixed using social media, and while this may be true for local issues, slacktivism could prove ineffective for solving global predicaments. In turn, organizationally speaking, slacktivism may result in a “waste of resources, lack of productivity and a risk of liability for the employer.” An NPR piece from 2009 also astutely asks whether "the publicity gains gained through this greater reliance on new media [are] worth the organizational losses that traditional activists entities are likely to suffer, as ordinary people would begin to turn away from conventional (and proven) forms of activism."
Criticism of slacktivism often involves the idea that internet activities are ineffective, and/or that they prevent or lessen political participation in real life. However, as many studies on slacktivism relate only to a specific case or campaign, it is difficult to find an exact percentage of slacktivist actions that reach a stated goal. In addition, studies suggest that "fears of Internet activities supplanting real life activity are unsubstantiated," in that they do not cause a negative or positive effect on political participation.
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
, in his October 2010 Yorker Article, lambasted those who compare social media "revolutions" with actual activism that challenges the status-quo. He argues that today's social media campaigns can't compare with activism that takes place on the ground, using the Greensboro sit-ins
Greensboro sit-ins
The Greensboro sit-ins were a series of nonviolent protests which led to the Woolworth's department store chain reversing its policy of racial segregation in the Southern United States....
as an example of what real, high-risk activism looks like. "As the historian Robert Darnton
Robert Darnton
Robert Darnton is an American cultural historian, recognized as a leading expert on 18th-century France.-Life:He graduated from Harvard University in 1960, attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship, and earned a Ph.D. in history from Oxford in 1964, where he studied with Richard Cobb,...
has written, “The marvels of communication technology in the present have produced a false consciousness about the past—even a sense that communication has no history, or had nothing of importance to consider before the days of television and the Internet.” But there is something else at work here, in the outsized enthusiasm for social media. Fifty years after one of the most extraordinary episodes of social upheaval in American history, we seem to have forgotten what activism is.
Clicktivism
The term "clicktivism" is sometimes used to describe activists using social media to organise protests. It allows organizations to quantify their success by keeping track of how many "clicked" on their petition or other call to action . For example, the British group UK UncutUK Uncut
UK Uncut is a United Kingdom-based protest group established in October 2010 to protest against tax avoidance in the UK and to raise awareness about cuts to public services. Various sources have described the group as left-wing in its political orientation...
uses Twitter and other websites to organise protests and direct action against companies accused of tax avoidance.
This varies from slacktivism in that it merely replaces older ways of communicating a protest's existence (telephone, word of mouth, leaflets etc.) and does actually involve a real life, physical protest. On the other hand, clicktivism is also used to describe forms of internet based slacktivism such as signing online petitions or signing and sending form letter emails to politicians or corporate CEOs.
Critics of clicktivism state that this new phenomenon turns social movements to resemble advertising campaigns in which messages are tested, clickthrough rate is recorded, and A/B testing
A/B testing
A/B testing, split testing or bucket testing is a method of marketing testing by which a baseline control sample is compared to a variety of single-variable test samples in order to improve response rates...
is often done. In order to improve these metrics, messages are reduced to make their "asks easier and actions simpler." This in turn reduced social action to have members that are a list of email addresses rather than engaged citizens.
Charity slacktivism
Charity slacktivism can be described as actions in support of a cause that take little effort on the part of the individual. Examples of online charity slacktivism include changing one's Facebook status to support a cause, joining a charity organization's Facebook page or "liking" a cause on Facebook, tweeting or retweeting a charity organization's request for support, signing Internet petitions, and posting and sharing YouTube videos about a cause.Examples of offline charity slacktivism include awareness wristbands and paraphernalia in support of causes, such as the Livestrong wristband
Livestrong wristband
The LIVESTRONG Bracelet is a blue silicone gel bracelet launched in May 2004 as a fund-raising item for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, founded by cyclist and pnumonia survivor Lance Armstrong. The bracelet itself was developed by Nike and their ad agency Wieden+Kennedy.-Purpose:The bracelet is...
and the Product Red
Product Red
Product Red, styled as RED, is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express , Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Bugaboo, Penguin Classics , Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark and Dell...
campaign products, as well as bumper stickers and mobile donating
Mobile donating
Mobile donating refers to donating to an organization through a mobile device. The primary means for mobile donating is through SMS. Mobile donating can also refer to consumers donating their old phones to a cause for recycling and reuse of the device....
.
The term slacktivism is often used to describe the world's reaction to the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
. The Red Cross managed to raise $5 million in 2 days via text message donations http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-14/tech/cashmore.haiti.earthquake.relief.technology_1_social-media-twitter-and-facebook-text-haiti/2?_s=PM:TECH. Social media outlets were used to spread the word about the earthquake. The day after the earthquake, CNN reported that four of Twitter's top topics were related to the Haitian earthquake http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-14/tech/cashmore.haiti.earthquake.relief.technology_1_social-media-twitter-and-facebook-text-haiti/2?_s=PM:TECH. These impressive responses by the world community were both praised as helpful reactions and condemned as throwing money at a problem that needed a different type of response.
Luxury good slacktivism
The act of purchasing luxury brand goods that highlight support for a particular cause and advertises that a percentage of the cost of the good will go to the cause. In some instances the donated funds are spread across various entities within one foundation which in theory helps out several deserving areas of the cause but criticisms of this type of donation highlight the thin spread of the donation.Slacktivists may also purchase a product from a company because it has a history of donating funds to charity, as a way to second-handedly support a cause. For example, a slactivist may buy Ben and Jerry's ice cream because its founders invested in the nation’s children, or promoted social and environmental concerns.
- Pink Pony
- Project REDProduct RedProduct Red, styled as RED, is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express , Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Bugaboo, Penguin Classics , Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark and Dell...
Politically motivated slacktivism
Certain forms of slacktivism have political goals in mind, such as gaining support for a presidential campaign, or signing an internet petititon that aims to influence governmental action.- President Barack Obama's campaign entitled Triple O encouraged individuals to donate funds online to support his campaign with the click of a button. During his 21-month run for the White House, President Obama was able to raise over 500 million dollars, of which 6 million were in increments of $100 or less.
Parody
An example of a social media campaign, such as donating one's status to a particular cause, functioning as a parody of slacktivism can be seen in the difference between the following examples:- "Change your status to this for 24 hours to raise awareness of Breast Cancer. 9/10 people will do this, will you?"
vs
- "Change your status to this for 24 hours to raise awareness of puppies with no tails. 9/10 people won’t do this, will you?"
The cause is initially introduced and is visibly supported as a news feed begin populating the same message, but when the message becomes parodied, the initial cause is replaced with something absurd, false, ridiculous or completely unrelated.
See also
- Avaaz
- Armchair warriorArmchair warriorArmchair Warrior is a term alluding to fighting from the comfort of one’s living room. The word is considered a pejorative term that describes speaking out in support of a war, battle or fight by someone that avoided or has little military experience...
- Armchair revolutionaryArmchair revolutionaryArmchair revolutionary is a pejorative term, generally used within the Radical Left and other left-revolutionary movements, to describe a person who endlessly criticizes the thoughts, ideology or practice of social movements or armed groups from a metaphorical armchair — i.e., from a mostly or...
- Cause marketingCause marketingCause marketing or cause-related marketing refers to a type of marketing involving the cooperative efforts of a "for profit" business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit. The term is sometimes used more broadly and generally to refer to any type of marketing effort for social and...
- SheepleSheepleSheeple is a term of disparagement, in which people are likened to the herd animals sheep. The term is often used to denote persons who voluntarily acquiesce to a perceived authority figure's suggestion without critical analysis or sufficient research to understand the ramifications of that decision...
- Virtual volunteeringVirtual volunteeringVirtual volunteering is a term describing a volunteer who completes tasks, in whole or in part, off-site from the organization being assisted, using the Internet and a home, school, telecenter or work computer or other Internet-connected device. Virtual volunteering is also known as online...
, about online volunteering
Further reading and external links
- Feder, Barnaby. (May 29, 2002) "They Weren't Careful What They Hoped For." The New York Times.
- Clark, Fred. (1995) Etymology of "slactivist", on a story in The Globe and Mail
- Phan, Monty. (Feb 27, 2001) "On the Net, 'Slacktivisim'/Do-Gooders Flood In-Boxes." Newsday. Page A.08.
- Observer Magazine: Armchair Warrior
- Foreign Policy magazine: The brave new world of slacktivism
- On turning slacktivists into activists
- NPR on slacktivism
- Guardian op-ed on clicktivism
- Activist Micah White's anti-clicktivism manifesto