#no.3 Online activity
As most of the world today is quite engaged online, especially those of us that use social media, we tend to feel that we naturally become part of certain events that we here about or issues that draw our attention. Online forums and platforms allow for opinions and thoughts to be shared universally, this encourages more and more individuals to participate in discussion and take part in a level of digital activism.
Social media has been used as a tool to enforce protest movements and even prominent public events such as social revolutions. These social changes have come to dramatically affect certain policies implemented by government leaders, initiating locally, activist groups are using social media platforms to form campaign projects. Some of these campaigns include Greenpeace and change.org. Although these campaigns may have their differences, they also have a common goal, and that is to change the world by bringing peace in and eradicating injustice one step at a time. Greenpeace (2016) stresses that "This fragile Earth deserves a voice. It needs solutions. It needs change. It needs you." It needs you, and me. It needs us. By using inclusive language and providing people with reliable reasons and facts as to why we should help such a cause on their website, we feel motivated enough to lend a hand, and if not a hand, an empathetic and passionate voice. We are further encouraged to speak up about issues of social change, climate change, and political injustice. Social media acts as a sounding board for many, and it serves as a pathway for those who feel powerless to finally be heard and gain some control.
Digital Activism (2012) <https://xomariee.wordpress.com/>.
Due to particular types of digital activism, there are now extensive opportunities for expression and interaction among artists and other cultural groups who have found the media to offer online social platforms as powerful tools for challenging mainstream culture (Leah Lievrouw 2011, Alternative & Activist Media, p. 2).
Activism does not only take place online however, 'culture jamming' can happen in the form of graffiti art and performance art, most of which happens on the very streets on which we live. This can sometimes appear as an act of deviance, yet this artistic expression can also prove to be liberating for those who feel voiceless and powerless elsewhere.
Although most forms of activism present as noble and respected pursuits, it appears that some do not fulfill their intended aims, these types of acts are referred to as 'slacktivism' and 'clicktivism'. Unfortunately, cases of slacktivism and clicktivism are appearing more and more in society today, as many campaigns merely stand to empower people and make ordinary individuals feel part of an important cause without producing any significant results. People can often feel empty after realising the nature of these causes and refuse to participate in other levels of activism in the future.
How can we really know if something is actually worth being part of or not? Are we simply joining groups, protesting in rallies and participating in local debates to fulfill a secret and personal desire to be part of something that is life-changing? Or are we really changing the lives around us but just not hanging around long enough or believing in the cause enough to notice the changes taking place.
Greenpeace 2016, Greenpeace International, viewed 30 December 2016, <http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/getinvolved/>.
Lievrouw, L 2011, Alternative & Activist New Media, Polity, Cambridge, U.K, p. 2.
'Social media activism' n.d., [image], Digital activism, Wordpress, viewed 3 August 2016, <http://xomariee.wordpress.com/>