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Why We Should Be Mindful of ‘Slacktivism’

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Nottingham chapter.

We’re all privy to sharing some political humour or social empathy with our Facebook friends – likes and shares equal people power, right? The cyber-optimist inside us views the Internet as a revolutionary platform, which we utilise to take our own stance on local and global issues. However, as our perception of reality is forever obscured by social media, we as a society start to believe that we’re going transform the world with the click of a button. Without actually getting to the root of the problem, we limit our own capacity to contribute to society in a meaningful way and become lazy Slacktivists.

Slacktivism, defined as feel-good activism with very poor political or social impact, is most evident. We do often have good intentions, signing online petitions and joining campaign groups are common examples. But more often, we’re all a little guilty of sharing to impress. We use the internet as a pedestal to further our own egos, and therefore it can be difficult to distinguish those who genuinely care about the cause. It appears we need to be more mindful about what we do and share.

Narcissistic ‘good deeds’ syndrome

The spectre of slacktivism can be described best as self-centred, as its power lies in the building up of the person’s online persona. For a fine example, think back to the no make-up selfies, where the obsession with the self in social media was drawn on productively for Breast Cancer ‘awareness’. Here, appearing to care and the fear of not doing so became more important than any amplified interest in the cause. Misinformation

Short attention spans, catchy headlines and misinformation from many campaigns can have huge ramifications for those suffering. Enlightenment turns to ignorance when the very juxtaposition of a crying emoji next to a Facebook share of dramatic unrest overseas does nothing more than normalise and trivialise such catastrophes. Questionable Goals

Many become consigned to petitions both offline and online, unfamiliar with the implications of what they’re signing. Many real-life causes have been obscured by a lack of research, for example Kony 2012, the documentary by Invisible Children, massively oversimplified the problem at hand and in doing so propagated mass false information. In reality, the effectiveness of petitions and online activism is very limited, often causing detrimental effects and worsening the situation, counteracting any social benefits. With recent technological advances it’s easier than ever to disseminate powerful messages, but with this power comes great responsibility to think before we click ‘share’. Edited by Tia Ralhan

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/asher-wren/slacktivism-technology_b_5077194.html

http://firstmonday.org/article/view/5855/4458

Image sources:

http://mediashift.org/2015/02/why-slacktivisim-matters/

http://www.fluxstories.com/2012/12/activism-2-0/slacktivism/

http://theportmanteauarchive.com/slacktivism/

http://www.ridgedevilsadvocate.com/opinion/2014/11/01/als-ice-bucket-cha…

First year International Media and Communications student at the University of Nottingham and Features writer for Her Campus! 
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Naomi Upton

Nottingham

Naomi is a third year English student at Nottingham University and Co-Editor in Chief of HC Nottingham. Naomi would love a career in journalism or marketing but for now she spends her time beauty blogging, attempting to master the delicate art of Pinterest, being an all-black-outfit aficionado, wasting time on Buzzfeed, going places, taking pictures and staying groovy.