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