I first read about this study in my Sauder 360 e-Newsletter when its title caught my eye – “New Sauder Research Slacktivism Liking on Facebook may mean less giving.”
I think the part that caught me the most off-guard was the fact that social media pushed people away from giving meaningfully and generously, as opposed to having a positive effect or even no effect.
If you don’t know what ‘slacktivism’ is, don’t worry – I didn’t know either up until this article. According to an article from First Giving, it was during the sweeping storm of a campaign for Kony 2012 that people began using the term. A combination of ‘slacker’ and ‘activism’ and labeled by many as ‘feel good activism’, slacktivism refers to one who supports a cause with small and very easy gestures to pretty much feel like he or she is contributing. Even though not a lot of people may know the term itself, I feel like slacktivism is a huge part of the current generation and the lifestyle everyone lives nowadays. If all you’ve done to help out a certain cause is ‘like’ or ‘retweet’ something, you’re guilty of slacktivism. I know I certainly am.
To be honest, it makes sense. Now that we’re exposed to so many viral issues around the world every single day, it’s difficult for people to devote their time and effort towards a single cause. By spreading ourselves thin, our contributions per cause becomes less significant, leading to quick and easy ways of getting involved. Most people probably have the same thought after pulling a slacktivistic move: “At least we did something right?”
I feel like slacktivism also works on both sides. If marketing provokes slacktive reactions, clearly the marketing could have been more striking – no? With great marketing comes great responses – see what I did there? – and my belief is that if you affect the right people the right way, you will see the change you want to see. If you go for the simple, easy, effortless marketing, don’t expect anything else but the same impact to be reflected from your audience and/or target market.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DfztIIqbTI
And you know what? Charities are paying attention to this new discovery. When I was corresponding with Hope International, an international development agency that is based right here in Vancouver, their representative mentioned this study and how her own organization may take this into consideration regarding their future social media marketing. Whether they’ll change what they do with their social media drastically is hard to say, but I believe being aware of slacktivism is the first step towards deepening your impact on those who care.
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