Slacktivism: Can social media actually cause social change?
By Lin Ma | smh.com.au | 01 October
When The Hopetoun Hotel unexpectedly shut down on Monday night, online Facebook group Save The Hopetoun Hotel grew to more than 8000 within two days, prompting widespread media attention and support.
And just days after releasing its new Vegemite cheese spread, iSnack.2.0, online consumer backlash has left Kraft marketers scratching their heads and going back to the drawing board.
Gone are the days of formal letter complaints and street protests, because now, through social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, blogs or Facebook, you can make or break Hollywood movies, change chocolate recipes, and even stop "hideous" GM cars from going into production - all in the privacy of your own home.
According to comScore, almost 9 million Australians visited a social networking site in June - a 29 per cent jump from last year.
With more than 70 per cent of Australian internet users - both old and young - now using these sites, social media strategist Jye Smith from Switched On Media believes online campaigning is increasingly useful in raising awareness of issues and influencing change.
"Social media raises awareness like never before because it's more accessible to larger audiences," Smith says. Although only a dedicated few would traditionally turn up to protests or rallies, Smith believes social media presents a new set of opportunities, since involving the majority now comes at the click of a button.
"[With social media] you're actually reaching everyone else - that's probably going to be more important at say, voting time," says Smith. "What drives change is awareness ... and people are never going to care unless they know."
The online presence of charity Invisible Children started with an online documentary about child soldiers in northern Uganda. And now - thanks to the evolving technologies of social media - it is one of the fastest growing non-profit organisations in the world.
Celebrity fans include singer and actor Miley Cyrus, actor Kirsten Dunst and musician Pete Wentz from Fallout Boy. And the charity even has Oprah Winfrey's tick of approval.
"Through Facebook, we have been able to collect and utilise all of our thousands and thousands of acquaintances and give them an organic avenue to plug into the organisation," says Jedidiah Jenkins from Invisible Children.
"From Facebook status updates to our 'Cause' page with over 700,000 members, we reach out to an enormous group of people.
"Twitter is another avenue we use ... ultimately leading us to the most powerful woman in entertainment's door, Oprah Winfrey.
Twitter was instrumental in disseminating information and getting more supporters." The group also broadcasts its events live through an online program called Livestream.
"At any given moment, thousands of kids across the world were watching our adventures, giving them an unprecedented vicarious experience."
But Nathan Bush, social media expert at DP Dialogue, believes that, besides influencing consumer and marketing trends, digital activism falls short in changing bigger issues such as political situations - especially in countries such as China or North Korea.
They [China] haven't taken notice of social opinion in any form for a long time," he says, "so it's going to take a lot more than a Facebook group to bring about change.
"I think that the Government won't take it as seriously as businesses and corporations." Omar Samad, social media marketer for non-profit youth organisation Vibewire, shares this view.
"I don't think social media is the solution for causing social change," he says. "It's a good medium for generating awareness and organising people, but not in terms of people in power actually taking notice."
Samad says that, unless it is coupled with "offline action", social media cannot cause political or social change. "How much impact would joining a Facebook group have unless people actually take action in the real world?
You can't expect the Government to change a policy while you sit at home monitoring your Facebook group."
"Slacktivism" or "slacker activism" is a term coined for those who update their status, join a Facebook group or make a blog post about a cause for social currency.
Bush says that, nowadays, it is "trendy" to be seen as a good person among one's network of online friends, and he is dubious about the efficacy of online campaigning.
"It's a way of showing off to their friends their moral compass, or their moral support for an issue. So they get to tell their 500 friends they support this charity, when all they've done is click a button."
However, the national director of GetUp, Simon Sheikh disagrees. "Online tools, in particular social media tools, can be very effective in causing social change," he says.
"They [social media tools] are very useful in bringing politicians together with the Australian public, reducing the barriers of participation in activism."
Censordyne, a recent GetUp campaign against internet censorship, involved TV advertisements funded by online supporters.
Within two days of launching, Sheikh says, the campaign was the second most discussed topic on Twitter worldwide.
"What's most effective about this is that people weren't only prepared to watch a TV ad or share it with their friends, they were actually prepared to donate," he says.
"That's the power of online campaigning. It's a very new model of activism - one that reduces the barriers for participation and therefore increases the number of Australians getting involved in activism."
First published by Smh.com.au on October 01 2009
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