Equality? I “Like” It
BY SERENA LEKAWA
Facebook has been looking a little geometric lately. Scrolling down my newsfeed, it was impossible not to notice the pink-and-red equal sign appearing again and again: a small icon next to a friend’s name, or a large, bold upload.
I was into it. What an exciting day in the history of human rights, with the case for marriage equality before the Supreme Court! Everyone should know about it. My immediate reaction was gratification—I was proud of this forward-thinking generation that Facebook tells me I’m a part of. I made a mental note to update my own profile picture. This is, after all, a modern world, and the internet is the fabric of the future. Besides, poster paint and picket signs are not nearly as eco-friendly.
However, as well-intentioned as online movements like this might be, their net significance is debatable.
In fact, it could be said that they fit the criteria for ‘slacktivism.’ Essentially, ‘slacktivism’ refers to activism—typically conducted through social media—that may offer individual gratification, but does little for any actual cause. Seeing all those equal signs made me feel warm and fuzzy, and I figured jumping on the rectangular trend would make me feel even warmer and fuzzier. But, oddly enough, it came with a certain feeling of anxiety: if I don’t do this, will people get the wrong idea about me? About my views? Something about this didn’t sit well with me; a cause I believe in shouldn’t be reduced to a tool of my image control. More important than my moment of Internet narcissism, however, is a troubling possibility: the real problem with supporting a cause by feel-good uploading occurs when the click of the mouse replaces real activism instead of supplementing it. The internet can be an invaluable mobilization tool. Social media is ideal for organization—a Facebook ‘event’ is the perfect save-the-date for this generation of activists. While this may be an effective place to start a movement, it must manifest itself into something greater to make a difference. The cause of marriage equality is much bigger than the scope of my cover photo.
Furthermore, what implications does this have for the cause itself? Think back to Kony 2012. The video that launched the campaign to bring down the African warlord went viral, and anyone remotely in touch with the digital world heard of it. The campaign raised $17.7 million and influenced the House of Representatives to pass a bill meant to develop ways to bring down “the world’s worst.” The problem with Kony 2012, according to Washington and Lee law professor Mark Drumbl, was that it oversimplified the issue of child soldiers, and omitted important facts about the Ugandan government that seriously complicated the problem. The internet is fast and our attention spans are short. When a cause is oversimplified, so is the solution; and here is where things get dangerous.
It would be unreasonable to suggest that social media has no impact on the important happenings of our time. Online activism shows solidarity, which fosters hope. It can also act as decent barometer to gauge the national or even global mood on a specific issue in way typical electoral maps cannot. In fact, data analysts at Facebook produced a political map of the US by measuring the numbers of people that changed their profile picture for marriage equality across the country. Access to information like this could have a real influence on politicians in terms of their platforms and legislative decisions.
But this can only take us so far. Symbols, pictures, hashtags—they can all be useful mechanisms to bolster a movement. They have the power to take proponents of a common cause from across the globe, and give them a community network that transcends oceans and borders; they unite different people from different places, united under a slogan, an image. The problem arises when the icons themselves become the movement. They can’t replace the manpower necessary to bring a cause to its full potential.
At the dawn of a technological revolution, we find that revolution itself is evolving—social media is not to be discounted when it comes to contemporary widespread debate. But it is crucial to remember that it doesn’t work alone or replace tangible action. When integrated into meaningful activism the internet has great potential. Why not #writetoyourcongressman? It can help accomplish amazing things and overpower great evils. Lets just make sure it doesn’t overpower us first.