Putting the Act in Activism

Edited, from the original source: http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2012/03/07/1226292/484597-kony-2012.gif

Now now, everyone, everyone, let’s all calm down!

The internet is abuzz with debate over whether or not activism over social networking sites is an effective strategy or not (well maybe they aren’t actually debating but Maria Popova was really sticking it to Malcolm Gladwell about it and I’m certain there are more out there having similar debates).

Sure, there are many perspectives that can be taken when looking at activism and the introduction of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in achieving its effectiveness.

Even from an initial look into case studies such as the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and the Arab Spring, it is evident that social media was extremely useful in coordinating protests on a massive scale, to the point where even in Egypt, the government shut down the entire internet in reaction, in order to prevent any further communication.

Now if you have your government shutting down the whole entire internet just to stop you from protesting, then isn’t this surely clear evidence that online activism is being effective?

Well now now, everyone, everyone, calm down again!

Don’t get too excited. For we must look at another case study: KONY. Don’t remember it? Well, it did fly past pretty quickly, gaining quick momentum on the internet from viral sharing of some lengthy video on how bad this Kony guy is. And then there was all this planning to protest which all quickly died away. Oh, and the guy who started this campaign, Jason Russell, ran naked down a street too. (Probably not relevant, it’s just something funny that should always be mentioned always.)

This is what we call Slacktivism, where little effort is actually made by online activists to pursue the goal they are aiming for, more wanting acceptance from their peers than to actually achieve something life-changing.

Kony 2012 is an excellent example of this, but this is where I get a little nit-picky with using this campaign as an example of an Activist’s Failure.

Maria Popova says it best when she stated that “we need a definition of what activism is” and that according to her, “activism is any action or set of actions […] that aims to resolve a problem that diminishes the quality of life of individuals, communities or society.”

This leads me to wonder whether Kony 2012 can even be considered activism in the first place? Is posting a video really enough action to be considered activism? And if not, then does this mean Kony 2012 isn’t really an example that disproves the effectiveness of online activism?

And here we return gracefully to something that must always be remembered in terms of convergent media and the essentials of social media: participation is key.

Participation is always the key factor in online communication, and from the case studies seen – where action is actually taken – this participation has led to effective activism.

Defining ‘activism’ is also key. While I could try to start a petition to get lemonade in the bubblers at school, it only becomes activism when it actually creates action and aims to help in issues where people’s lives are in turmoil.

REFERENCES

Popova, M 2010, ‘Malcolm Gladwell is #Wrong, Change Observer, viewed 8 October 2013, <http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/feature/malcolm-gladwell-is-wrong/19008/&gt;