Slacktivism
Examples of slacktivism include; sharing information through Facebook or Instagram. For example, on Facebook, a person may like a comment, share information, or post information to raise awareness (Muslic, 2017). Another example of slacktivism is wearing a ribbon. The type of slacktivism raises awareness and the person develops a sense of belonging to a certain issue hence improving motivation and happiness. For example, if the ribbon is on your shirt, people will be interested in knowing more about the issue and the wearer will have the opportunity to have a real conversation about the issue (Fireman, 2018). The third example of slacktivism is signing a petition (Cabrera, 2017). This is a process where individuals form an agreement to bring social changes through engaging in rallies, political campaigning, and more. In searching the examples of slacktivism, I used credible websites such as org and ResearchGate. I used the search term 'slacktivism sociology', and ‘example of slacktivism pdf'.
These examples of slacktivism use images and words that have similarities. For example, they have a common goal of supporting the participants in the movement. Even though the activities such as liking a comment, wearing a ribbon, or even signing a petition may be indirect or in other words may have little effect, they have a greater contribution in that rather than suppressing the actions, they boost them. The images and words that are intended to bring a change. For example, on Facebook, a person may voice his or her opinion by signing a petition, wearing a ribbon, and other activities that have a sole intention of solving the problems.
I use social media platforms to share and post information. Sometimes I feel guilty for not participating in social issues and I change pictures, share information, like, and comment on statements, whether it is a political statements or not. I have become political to the extent that I express my political beliefs by changing pictures on Facebook. I believe that by changing the pictures, I can help the politician spread the message quickly. The supporters of that particular politician can also gain an awareness that the person is working tirelessly. I feel that changing pictures on social media counts as social activism in that I am bringing a social change or in other words, I am supporting a political figure by spreading the message. For example, a political statement may be based on addressing a social issue affecting a particular underrepresented group. When I change my picture to include a political statement it indicates that I am participating in addressing the issue of raising awareness without being involved in other meaningful actions. In other words, I change the picture with a purpose not only to spread the message but also to make a call for action. Social movement such as the gay rights movement influence collective behaviors. This means that a large number of people are influenced by the social movement to act in a certain way. The behaviors may be organized or unorganized.
Online protests actions like slacktivism can be effective in that as people come together by sharing videos and information, they become part of an issue and the social media interaction enables them to find solutions and come up with actual actions. For example, online protects are effective in that when addressing a certain issue, people invite their friends, and all gains awareness and creates a meaningful conversation where they raise support (Buachler, 2016). It is important to note these actions increases organizations' reputations, create personal networks, raise community awareness, and helps the supporters of social issues to gain recognition. A collective behavior theory that relates to the effectiveness of social protection is an emergent-norm perspective. This means that individuals respond to social issues by developing their behaviors on how to address the issue (Buachler, 2016). In other words, a person has a unique reason for supporting an issue. People do not have coordination or planning but they come up with collective actions that are beyond the institutional practices.
References
Muslic Hana. (2017). What is Slacktivism and is it Even Helping? Nonprofit hub. Retrieved from: https://nonprofithub.org/social-media/what-is-slacktivism-does-it-help/
Fireman Abby. (2018). Slacktivism: Social Media Activism and its Effectiveness. In all things Retrieved from: https://inallthings.org/slacktivism-social-media-activism-and-its-effectiveness/
Buachler M. Steven. (2016). Understanding Social Movement: Theories from the Classical
Era to the Present. Routledge
Cabrera, Nolan L., Cheryl E. Matias, and Roberto Montoya. (2017) "Activism or slacktivism?
The potential and pitfalls of social media in contemporary student activism." Journal of
Diversity in Higher Education 10, no. 4: 400.
