This [insert problem] is a big issue that needs to be solved! We need to take real action to make a change in the world! If you agree, copy and paste this Facebook status; that’ll make a difference.
In an age where everything from shopping to listening to music to communicating with friends can be done without leaving your couch, armchair activism has become a widespread phenomenon. This has unfortunately created a large group of people who feel like they’re accomplishing much, but actually doing little.
Before the age of social media, when people wanted to effect change, they would attend a protest, write to their congressman or even hold a bake sale. This involved getting out of the house and spreading the word about whatever issue they believed to be plaguing society.
Nowadays, however, people can sit back and share a post about some natural disaster or terrible working conditions in some developing country, then go back to watching Netflix for the rest of the day, feeling self-assured and happy that they made a difference. But are they doing anything at all?
The most memorable example of armchair activism was the “Kony 2012” campaign that went viral for several weeks. People took to social media, changing their profile pictures and sharing videos in an attempt to raise awareness about the atrocities of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. Eventually, citizens were satisfied with their attempts, lost interest and the movement ground to a halt. As a result, Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army remain a force in Africa to this day.
What few realize when they attempt to be political on social media is that although they feel better about themselves, they’re actually doing very little in the grand scheme of things. Most people nowadays have hundreds of friends on social media, and the odds of them reading or being interested in any given post is infinitesimally small. So while it may give the poster satisfaction that they’re passing along information, the amount of change they’re making remains disproportionately tiny.
The overall issue with this new phenomenon is that it actually slows change. Back in the days of widespread suffrage and civil rights movements, people who sympathized with the issues had to go out and give effort in order to make a change and feel better about themselves. Today, a larger number of people can make a tiny effort that has an equally tiny effect, and still feel like they’re contributing. As a result, less work gets done, but by a much larger group of people.
The solution to this conundrum is to put social media campaigns in context. What are the odds that you’re going to see (or take the time to examine) any given post on Facebook or Twitter? Why would someone else take the time to read one particular post over any other?
Although practically everything has been made easier with the advent of new technology, the need for personal connections and physical efforts to be made cannot be understated. So while hitting the share or retweet button may give an ephemeral feeling of satisfaction, it’s time to realize that to actually make a difference, people need to get up off their couches, get out in the real world and do something we can actually be proud of.
Sebastian is a freshman studying environmental studies and political science. What do you think of his views? Should we start moving away from Internet activism? Is social media negatively impacting social justice? Send all questions to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
