Like me, I’m sure your social media pages are filled with an influx of social and political messages. Whether it be posts promoting gender equality, outlining the harm of fast fashion or (as seen more recently) the injustice of international conflicts, social media activism is everywhere. In an age where digital media is claiming dominance over physical newspapers, social media has proved that it can be a pivotal tool in political campaigns and used as an overarching source for good, but is this always the case?
Social media can reach a wide and diverse audience which is important for marginalised groups who use their platforms to vocalised lived experiences that are not always represented in other forms of media. For example, I find the experiences and messages of activists like Blair Imani, a Black, bisexual, and Muslim woman, particularly insightful and interesting. Social media is also important for spreading awareness. A key aspect of political activism is reposting and sharing posts, including pictures and videos, that highlight the importance of a particular issue, which anyone can do in just two clicks. Reposting and sharing key ideas allows others to appreciate the needs and even existence of an issue not previously raised by media outlets. However, the easiness by which this sharing can be done has led to what some have termed ‘slacktivism’.
Slacktivism is pretty much what it says on the tinL slacking activism. People who engage in this form of activism often share posts, photos and videos on their stories or social media feeds but only actually know very little (or nothing at all) about the issue. ‘Slacktivists’ might post educational resources but give no indication of how their viewers might try to help or further understand the cause they are advocating for. Not only this, but those who engage in this form of activism often repost media but do not do anything directly to help the issue themselves.
Slacktivism is on the rise for two reasons. One, general laziness. As I’ve already mentioned, reposting and sharing media can be done easily within a few seconds. Researching the issue and taking direct action to help it requires another degree of effort that is less appealing people using the simple the like, share, repost strategy. Two, only posting about an issue as part of a trend and because other people are doing so. This was seen during the Black Lives Matter movement people posted a black photo to their
Instagram feeds with the hashtag £blackouttuesday. Reducing such a prevalent issue to a social media ‘fad’ undermines its importance and could be more negative than positive.
So, how can you use social media as a force for good? Put simply, the key thing here is to avoid slacktivism. Actually researching and directly engaging with activism outside of posts on social media before or whilst posting content yourself ensures you stay educated on the issue and can therefore help others be. Not only this, but you should try your best to make sure that any resources you share are informative and provide guidance to viewers about how they can learn more or help the issue themselves. If used correctly, there is no doubt that you can use your social media platform as a highly influential force for good.
“Welcome asylum seekers and refugees – Refugee Action protest 27 July 2013 Melbourne” by John Englart (Takver)is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.