Reading this piece at Kate Harding’s blog (a guest post written by Jess), I am now almost convinced that the most virulent critics of online activism (who actually go as far as calling it slacktivism) are probably the same people who claim that internet friendships do not exist or are toxic or not meaningful. Just people who do not understand the medium. At all.
While 30 years ago, you might have been lucky if, in a good day, 10 people read your pamphlet, now you might reach 1000 in the same period of time. Sure, Facebook statuses supporting “Breast Cancer Awareness” and Pink Ribbons are annoying and pretty much useless. But that also existed before the internet when you met random strangers asking for donations in front of the supermarket. The internet amplified both the good and the bad. The critics seem to only see the bad, just like they are skeptical of all online interactions.
The numbers of people writing daily about issues of social justice is not meaningless, unless you believe that there is only meaning in shouting with a megaphone. And because 30 years ago people were being jailed and hurt for participating in demos does not mean that today one cannot create at least some awareness without having to risk safety. While the best way to bring change is through a combination of internet and physical interactions, those are not feasible for everyone. Moreover, we might have never heard about the meaningful movement of disabled people struggling to get recognition and rights if it wasn’t for the internet in the first place. Many who are unable to leave their homes have a way to write and tell their stories. These stories are, in turn, picked by others and passed along, raising consciousness and educating.
I am not denying the existence of slacktivism as a phenomenon. I’ve seen it myself on occasions. But to throw all internet activism into the slackactivist bucket is not just disingenuous, it’s outdated and inconsiderate to the many who actually put thought into what they write and communicate, people like Kate Harding herself (just to use one of many examples, but relevant since I mentioned her in the beginning) who not only shaped entire movements born in the internet but managed to insert the topics into mainstream media as well. And that is no small achievement.
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