Is Slacktivism Bad?

In John Hoffman’s post last week, he spoke about the “the power of offline.”  He mentioned how the most effective way to use eadvocacy tools is to have them lead to “on the street” action.  This really speaks to the larger debate regarding the effectiveness of online social media tools to create social change and whether they may actually be causing less engagement and action.   This debate really picked up steam after the May 19, 2009 Foreign Policy article, “The Brave New World of Slacktivism.”  Since then, I have noticed a flurry of blogs, training/information sessions, and tweets about slacktivism.

The heart of the debate is whether online tools (Ex. Facebook Causes, Facebook Pages, online petitions) are  causing individuals to be only passively involved, never to take any meaningful action or become fully engaged with an organization.

I have not personally known any individual who would be “on the street” working for a cause, but, because of the ease of getting involved behind a computer screen, do not.  I do, however, know individuals that would not take the time to encourage others to learn about a topic, nor donate to a cause if it were not for these tools.  This personal experience makes me skeptical that slacktivism will have a negative effect.  I have never subscribed to an "all or nothing" philosphy and believe even the small good that a slacktivist may contribute is useful.  However, I have to agree that to be truly effective, the interest that is generated by slacktivists needs to be cultivated into strong engagement where they will come out of their homes and put in the "on the street" effort.  Slacktivists are sticking their foot in the door and it is the job of those of us using eadvocacy tools to help them step through completely.  

Here are some places to start if you want to read more about slacktivism:

Twitter search on slacktivism

NTEN Q&A Session with Joe Green, co-founder of Causes on Facebook and Myspace

Millenial Activism: Is it activism 2.0 or slacktivism, by Kristen Ivie on Social Citizen

A slacktivist and his crackberry are seldom parted, by WARREN CLEMENTS

7 thoughts on slacktivism (and why you should vote for our panel for SXSW 2010), Beaconfire Wire