Blog 13


Class this week revolved around the topic of slacktivism. This term is used to refer to the phenomenon whereby people put in minimal effort, generally through the medium of the internet, to help with a cause. People tend to still get a good feeling from there minimal effort because they feel like they have made a sufficient contribution to the cause. Therein lies the problem. Most of the time their minimal effort is not enough to generate a change. The question that remains is: is it better to have millions of slacktivists or thousands of activists?

Slacktivism is no doubt great at raising awareness about issues. People seem to have no problem sitting behind their computer or phone and retweeting or sharing posts about charity events. GoFundMe pages and other major charity organizations looking to raise money garner millions of shares on social media platforms each year. However, out of the millions that share the article or link to donate, only a small percentage actually contribute their time or money. This pattern amasses a plethora of publicity, but a deficit in funds and helping hands.

Aside from the monetary aspect, slacktivism may hinder actual progress in the form of policy changes or social justice cases. Its one thing to appear to support something online, but when you are absent in the physical world to offer support to a cause, the effect may be minimal. I must confess that I am guilty of slacktivism myself. I feel that I am helping out when I share posts about raising money for charities or change the colors of my profile pic to rally behind a cause. But in actuality how much of a difference am I really making?

Raising awareness about issues is a great thing and social media platforms amplify this event. But how far will increased awareness alone get us? If everyone suddenly knows about the issue but still doesn’t donate anything to it, then nothing has changed. It is a difficult problem to address because how do you tell people to give more when they think they are already doing enough for a cause that doesn’t necessitate contribution on their part; the essence of charity and selfless giving.

This class discussion has made me more aware that I may need to reduce the amount of charitable events I am sharing with people, and increase my level of engagement with a select few of them.

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