Seven years ago, the #MeToo movement went viral as sexual assault survivors from around the world shared their stories on various social media outlets. Roughly three years later, the Black Lives Matter movement reached its virtual peak as Instagram users posted video footage of police brutality and flooded feeds with #BlackLivesMatter. Today, social media is still widely used to advocate for social and political change in a practice referred to as digital activism or clicktivism.
Despite its prevalence, digital activism has faced much scrutiny. Deemed effortless and ineffective by skeptics, it is sometimes referred to as “slacktivism.” Such criticism fuels negative, skewed perceptions of digital activism that underestimate its importance. Digital activism is, in fact, an incredibly effective, viable form of activism that helps promote social movements and increase civic engagement.
Claims against digital activism often challenge its impact, and it’s not hard to understand why. Digital activism often involves simple, seemingly inconsequential online activity, such as liking a post or reposting one to your Instagram story. This activity can actually be quite impactful by contributing to existing discourse surrounding specific causes. Consider what hundreds or thousands of likes or posts can do to further movements and, to a greater extent, inspire change. Widespread social media action can serve as a catalyst for social and political movements, generating enough attention to push even the most obscure cause into the mainstream.
Corroborating clicktivism’s power requires just a brief glimpse into some recent, large-scale social movements. There are not only the aforementioned Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, but also the comparably popular Occupy Wall Street and #LoveWins movements. Each of these campaigns has gained significant traction from clicktivism. The BLM movement, specifically, is cited as a testament to digital activism and its effectiveness. It was founded in 2013 and earned national attention largely due to its impressive social media presence. It is this presence that produced the awareness necessary to sustain the movement and make it accessible to people who wouldn’t have otherwise been aware of it.
Digital activism is also generally very useful in spreading knowledge among social media users. Even if clicktivism doesn’t initiate immediate, tangible change, it still raises informed awareness for important issues. This awareness not only benefits the social movements themselves but also promotes informed opinions among social media users, assuming they’re viewing reliable content. Furthermore, exposure to digital activism about a specific cause can encourage them to express their own support through nondigital means, such as voting for political candidates who support the given cause. Digital activism also puts pressure on existing officials and policymakers, pushing them to support and pass legislation to address relevant issues.
Another common clicktivism misconception is that it replaces offline activism. Ample research actually indicates the extent to which an individual engages in clicktivism is predictive of their levels of offline activism. The two are not mutually exclusive; there is actually a positive relationship between online activism and more traditional activism, cementing the former’s role as more of a complement to the latter, than a replacement. Furthermore, research indicates those who are socially or politically active will engage in digital activism — and those who aren’t won’t. Digital activism, then, is by no means a threat to other forms of activism.
Of course, digital activism does have its limits. It is not immune to the fleeting nature of social media trends or ever-changing online culture. Online movements are susceptible to short “bursts of attention” rather than a long-term commitment from the general public. This is not to say, however, that digital activism is inconsequential — it often generates several of these waves of attention that provide movements the necessary boosts to reach peak prominence. Additionally, in moments of lighter public visibility, most movements have a handful of key advocates or leaders who sustain and further the cause while their hashtag isn’t trending, thereby ensuring movements that fall out of the public eye don’t fall off the face of the earth as well. Digital activism, then, does not necessarily have to generate massive, consistent attention for causes when most are sustained by that small group of passionate activists.
Digital activism should not just involve contributing to existing social media trends. People should provide their digital support for lesser-known or neglected movements as well. Social media users, for example, might consider using their platforms to address how the U.S. can better support Ukraine in light of the country’s ongoing conflict with Russia — an especially relevant topic given the recent increase in the percentage of Americans who believe the U.S. isn’t giving Ukraine adequate support. Individuals might also consider taking a different approach to addressing certain issues on social media, like the current mental health crisis. In addition to reposting colorful infographics or uplifting quotes, people can also draw attention to proposed policy changes that, among other things, are meant to provide more people with access to mental health-related resources. Taking steps like these can help curate a more diverse range of digital activism that reduces the likelihood that consumers will grow indifferent to the activism on their feeds.
Unfortunately, digital activism has a bad reputation. Its association with relatively easy online activity has many convinced that it is not real activism, but rather a simplistic, ineffective alternative. In actuality, digital activism is just as valid as more traditional forms of activism, and can be just as effective. It’s also an excellent means through which to spread information and awareness surrounding important, relevant issues, further establishing clicktivism’s value. So next time you consider reposting something to your Instagram story, don’t hesitate. It’s not as stupid as you might think.
Rebecca Warber is an Opinion Columnist who writes about education and culture. She can be reached at rwarber@umich.edu.