Can a Like change the world The power of clicktivism

can alike

change the world not if you listen to

the people currently in power

the un defines collectivism as

supporting a cause by performing

simple measures not necessarily engaged

or devoted to making a change

the urban dictionary defines slacktivism

as they call it

as the self-deluded idea that by liking

sharing or retweeting something

you’re helping out they basically imply

that if it’s simple

you’re not committed if you’re not in a

protest homemade banner in hand

you will not contribute to change but

beyond this limited definition of

collectivism

what does it actually mean clicktivism

can be any form of online social

activism

social change hashtags viral videos

lgbtq snapchat filters or online

petitions

these are already a staple of how

generation zed bring about

change but how do we answer the claim

that it’s simply a means of appeasing

our conscious

are we truly engaging with the matter at

hand there is mounting evidence

to suggest that online activism is far

more effective than many assume

research over the last 10 years suggests

that collectivism

can be a powerful tool to spread

little-known ideas

and publicize non-mainstream causes that

don’t get the attention they deserve

one tweet or post won’t change the world

of course

but thousands of them can spread beliefs

that will

there is a reason that traditional media

gatekeepers tell us that social media

can’t make a difference by creating

movements online

these traditional gatekeepers simply get

shut out

injustices which have persisted for

decades are suddenly getting traction

because a wider group of people now get

a say in the agenda

and clicktivism has a major role to play

in carving out this alternative

narrative

amazing things happen when collective

unified

digital efforts emerge we’ve seen

policies changed

we’ve seen cultures turn we’ve seen a

powerful end up in prison

and we’ve even seen governments fall

perhaps the most obvious question to ask

is how has the internet become the

platform

for mediating change at scale well

like any situation it’s a good idea to

look at both sides

a year-long pandemic has taught us to

live online

so it’s unsurprising that social media

campaigns were the spark

for street protests and rallies in

summer 2020

on the 25th of may last year the murder

of george floyd incited local protests

three nights later the whole world’s

feeds streamed with live

pictures of protesters burning

minneapolis’s third police precinct

these local uprisings reached millions

who shared in the pain

then in june protests expanded at an

unprecedented speed and scale growing

nationally

then internationally leaving a series of

now iconic images

and videos in their wake major

historical events

are often linked to the technology of

the day television footage from selma

changed attitudes around the world

radios united countries in world war one

and even the printing press

sparked riots what we’re witnessing now

feels like an exceptionally online

moment of social unrest

critics argue that collectivism doesn’t

lead to actual change

and that it oversimplifies complex

global problems

sharing a link or signing a petition is

simple but

it’s too easy to disengage from the

cause just 10 seconds later

and yet the street protests grew

together with the global

vile trend of black lives matter

activism online

we saw phone footage of toppling statues

screenshots of bail fund donations

protest guides flooding twitter and

instagram the momentum has carried well

into this year

answering the question if online

movements can last

and yet we still hear voices asking

whether social media has changed

activism for the better

we all know at least someone and you may

be one of these people

that dismisses online activism

i’ve been told it’s an ineffective a

waste of time

and been offered better ways to be an

activist without using social media

i’ve even met people who believe that

displaying support for certain courses

is just a way to grow your personal

brand

let’s start by looking back before the

internet

movements were far slower to grow it

took a year of organization

to make the 13-month long montgomery bus

boycott a reality

beginning with rosa parks’s famous act

of resistance

the civil rights movement took a decade

of protests and activism

to be big enough to attend the march on

washington

back then it was difficult to recruit

and retain

passionate people this meant that only

the largest and best supported movements

could ever thrive today’s world of

digital activism is broad-reaching and

immediate

compared to traditional methods of

activism what’s astonishing

is how many movements have been able to

flourish for example

saudi women fighting for their right to

drive cars through social media

young people taking a stand on global

period poverty

and having taxes removed through social

media and native american communities

exerting political pressure

through cultural websites nowadays

digital spaces like

instagram snapchat and tick tock are

being used to develop

our civic identities to express our

political views

in a new and creative way the key

difference between generation zed

civic engagement and older traditional

forms is the easy entry point

today anyone can make super scalable

content

we’re able to adopt an approach to civic

engagement

that blends both digital and real-life

actions

we think of it as our digital

citizenship

fundamentally different from the

traditional media of televisions

newspapers and films

social media allows us what is called

participatory culture

in other words it allows us to choose

what we engage with

and shape our own ideas based on our

experiences

we become the curators of what’s

important rather than any one editor or

company

and that is a big shift

these symbolic digital participatory

acts

can be thought of as moments of claiming

our voice

though on the surface acts of voice may

seem trivial and discontented

these acts are the foundation of our

digital civic engagement

young people who engage in digital

politics are much more likely to engage

in offline political participation such

as voting

provided they have three things access

to technology and digital skills

civic education and a platform for

activism

it’s been proven that educating young

people on civic issues

at an early age is crucial to creating

socially woke

adults and a sense of social empowerment

can help boost the self-esteem

and well-being of young people a hugely

pressing issue for generation zed

for many movements one of the most

important shifts has been from

in-person activism to online action

digital venues

offer new opportunities for growth in

hong kong for example activists have

used the popular online multiplayer game

animal crossing to spread pro-democracy

messaging

we’ve also witnessed new forms of

collective action organized online

such as flash mobs like the hashtag clap

for carers

here at home even anti-government

protests in tunisia

egypt and ecuador were in part organized

and promoted via facebook

here’s a fact that may surprise you in

recent years

young people’s participation in

traditional measures of civic engagement

such as voting or joining a political

party has been steadily declining

overall in western democracies

here’s another fact that might surprise

you generation zed

say that their investment in digital

networking protest

and volunteerism are actually through

the roof

in other words collectivism is likely

the catalyst

for rising political action with all

that out the way

what are the benefits of collectivism

there are some obvious ones scale speed

efficiency and the ability to reach

across borders and raise awareness and

funds

facebook and youtube have proved ideal

for sharing a diverse range of subjects

many of which would otherwise be

overlooked by the mainstream

they can play a major part in turning

just a fringe course

into a global movement secondly

online activism is also more accessible

those with disabilities were

historically excluded from physical

protest

those in rural areas also rarely made

their voices heard on national issues

online they have an equal voice

there is no medium that allows for this

sense of community

just like clicktivism does however

there are two sides to every story

online movements can burn out

faster than campaigns that spend months

or even

years forging in-person connections and

there is rarely a well-oiled permanent

organization to follow up on protesters

demands

some even argue that the digital playing

field is tilted towards dictators and

disadvantages movements

in several important ways many dictators

tightly control

their country’s internet service

providers this allows them to easily

monitor

censor and selectively prevent activists

from getting

and maintaining internet access

india’s control over the internet is

comparable to some of the world’s most

authoritarian countries

yes while india ranks second in the

world in terms of mobile

internet subscribers the country also

leads in internet shutdowns to control

protesters

and of course regimes can flood the

online space with government propaganda

as they did in serbia and honduras in

direct response to anti-government

protests

going forward really effective protests

will require

not just the right of people to gather

but accessible public spaces in which

gathering

is possible protesters in countries such

as

china russia and turkey have been

arrested by the thousands

and their rights of assembly removed

in answer to a blanket ban on protests

in spain back in 2015

activists resorted to protest by

hologram

18 000 people sent in holograms of

themselves protesting

which were then projected in front of

congress on a loop for several hours

sadly the phenomenon of shrinking civic

spaces appears to continue

and digital replicas are just an

addition not a substitute

despite all the hurdles many notable

activist causes of the past decade

are still recognized by their online

presence

in 2010 a huge earthquake hit haiti

the red cross were able to garner 2.2

million tweets and raise

20 million dollars in a single week at

one point they were receiving 10

000 texts per second and went on to

raise 500 million dollars in total

i mean who could forget when one out of

every six brits participating in the ice

bucket challenge

raising 220 million dollars for als

research

we haven’t even begun to discuss the

metoo movement yet

which amongst everything else connected

3 600 people with lawyers

and raised 24 million dollars to support

their efforts on the back

of 20 million tweets and finally

my favorite 14 year old campaigner lucy

gavahan

her petition asked tesco to stop selling

eggs from cage tens which made up 43

of the eggs they sold each year with

many signatures and shares

on social media tesco announced that

they would phase out eggs from cage tens

by 2025

some of the most successful movements

used online activity to rally support

and then combine this with the legwork

on the ground not just talking to talk

but walking the walk the 2019 climate

striker movement is an incredibly

successful example of this combination

of online

and offline activism rallying behind

greta tunburg and friday’s the future

tens of millions of citizens all over

the world mobilize to address the

climate crisis and support

environmental activism

but is there any correlation between

likes and donations and volunteering

well studies have shown that given the

easy and efficient nature of

collectivism

it does increase a desire for performing

other

more difficult behaviors including money

donations

and volunteering studies have also shown

that young people

who engage strongly in politics online

also do so in their offline lives

so sharing and tweeting politics on

social media does in fact correlate with

attending political meetings

donating to campaigns votings and other

forms of civic engagement

at the end of the day is limited action

not always better than no action at all

well a greenpeace activist once said

dismissing weak ties because they’re not

strong would be about as stupid as

turning down a kid

wanting to empty his piggy bank to

donate because we need more money than

he can give

that would be insulting and frankly

counterproductive

so what do i think the future of

collectivism looks like

well i feel that there is a lot of room

for gamification style features

competitive reward based systems and

more overt acknowledgement

when sharing positive change across

social media

we all love a bit of praise after all

we know that it takes a minimum of seven

exposures to something to produce action

therefore we may need more incentives to

share social change

at a higher frequency than ever before

as a way to build and broaden

awareness what if instagram allowed you

to tag

and measure your socially conscious

posts and stories

enabling you to track your weekly

contribution

we could create a global ripple effect

every week

and instagram could share data on how

local areas are truly benefiting

from these mentions yes it’s

collectivism

but it will help people in need of

support increase awareness and amplify

all that is good in the world so where

does this leave us today

the impact of social media on activism

cannot be understated what was once

impossible

is now possible efforts that once

required

mass mobilizations of door lockers can

now be achieved

in an instant with a well-placed tweet

the internet is now the front line and

activists

must prioritize online messaging or

otherwise

have their messaging regulated for them

you’ve all heard the saying the pen is

mighty than the sword

well the power of the click has now

joined the fight

online actions can change a country’s

policies

drag criminals to court and bring a sea

of people out onto the streets in a

matter of hours

the key is doing it together social

media

is now the most powerful tool of

communication and its users are helping

activists to build communities

raise awareness and mobilize it helps

activists

to both act and to react

criticism of social media activism comes

largely from those who haven’t found

their voice online

and from those who are seeing their

megaphone taken away

by new voices in the conversation it’s a

classic case of the generation gap

they do not understand that our words

our data our clicks online

help connect us all with those in power

and this

is exactly how democracy works

we know that today’s activists won’t be

satisfied

with mere digital activism if we’re to

achieve

lasting impacts through our efforts then

this generation

must pass the sometimes unfocused energy

of digital media and combine it with

long-standing principles

for building and sustaining social

campaigns

but it’s difficult to argue that being

online hasn’t had an impact on the

number of people willing to show up for

a cause

as someone 15 years younger than the

internet

its universal influence has directly

shaped the way that i

and others born into the online

generation engage with social change

for some like me it makes activism

without the ability to connect using

social media

completely unimaginable

use your media to grow awareness use

your voice to bring attention

use your privilege to drive purpose and

use your time

on this planet to create positive social

change at scale

by harnessing the power of collectivism

thank you