"Slacktivists:" a Critique of Social Media Activism
www.agarwhale.com
It’s become commonplace to frequently be confronted with a flurry of angry (and frequently ungrammatical) posts filled with buzzwords every time Trump posts something stupid (so, fairly often). In fact, it’s become so accepted that people appear to view posts on social media as a legitimate alternative to tangible contributions to the community, such as donating, volunteering, or acts of kindness to other people generally. The result has been the broadening of the term activism to include low-effort tasks like retweeting things you deem empowering. While I won’t go so far to condemn the intentions behind posting about causes you believe in, I think the rise in doing so has three distinct harms to the ways people view social movements, and to the choices they make to advance them.
"Slacktivists:" a Critique of Social Media Activism
"Slacktivists:" a Critique of Social Media…
"Slacktivists:" a Critique of Social Media Activism
It’s become commonplace to frequently be confronted with a flurry of angry (and frequently ungrammatical) posts filled with buzzwords every time Trump posts something stupid (so, fairly often). In fact, it’s become so accepted that people appear to view posts on social media as a legitimate alternative to tangible contributions to the community, such as donating, volunteering, or acts of kindness to other people generally. The result has been the broadening of the term activism to include low-effort tasks like retweeting things you deem empowering. While I won’t go so far to condemn the intentions behind posting about causes you believe in, I think the rise in doing so has three distinct harms to the ways people view social movements, and to the choices they make to advance them.