[READ] Youth slacktivism: If only tweets were votes

‘Like us on Facebook and we will vaccinate zero children against Polio’.

That statement headlined an online ad campaign by UNICEF Sweden in 2013 to drum up donations for polio vaccines and it spiked the ongoing debate about online advocacy and its real life impact. By the way, the advert ended by saying ‘we have nothing against likes, but vaccines costs money. Please buy Polio vaccine. It will cost 4 pounds, but will save the lives of 12 children. The need to add meaningful impact to slacktivism could not be more cheekily stated.

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Slacktivism, yes, that is what it is called and we all do it very often. The term, which was coined by Dwight Ozard and Fred Clark in 1995, is a combined word for slacker and activism. It was coined to deride those who offer online support to causes in order to feel sane or at least assuage their feelings for or against a certain cause without actually doing something constructive for it. Examples of “slacktivism” include; likes, tweeting and re-tweets for a cause, signing on-line petitions, change of profile pictures, articles and pictures. These are commonly referred to as “feel-good” measures, in support of an issue or social cause, that have little or no practical effect other than to make the person doing it gain the satisfaction that they ‘did something’.

Remember the last time you vented online? Remember when you shared the post that someone needed help and no amount was too small but you yourself did nothing? Remember when there was a physical meeting to drum up support for a cause you liked and shared on social media but didn’t show up? You were being a slacktivist.

In fact, for every accident that occurs on our roads, it is more likely that some people will be more interested in using their camera phones than participating in rescue efforts. This makes slactivism more sensational than effective. Globally, there has been a lot of debate about the role and impact of slacktivism has had in the past few years but it is clear that if the vibrant and active youthful population in Nigeria is to be taken seriously in 2015, more contributions will be required than political slacktivism.

Across the world and in Africa, slacktivism has had its successes translated into real life impact. When US Sergeant Gwen Beberg attempted to take home a dog smuggled off the streets of Baghdad, the US military confiscated the dog to destroy it. An online petition netting over 70,000 signatures ensured the information spread across the world and kept the information on the front burner of discussions across the world.

The impact of how social media influenced social mobilization during the Arab Spring remains a powerful example of how unconventional use of digital tools can raise societal consciousness. Even in Nigeria, the near miraculous way that online complaints and tweets about the hike in the price of petrol cascaded into a full blown nationwide protest tagged ‘Occupy Nigeria’ remains a phenomenon that baffled even veteran activists. Before this time, little successes have been recorded in mobilizing the educated youths and middle class executives who see every election and protest as an opportunity to kick back and relax. Whether this feat can be mustered again remains to be seen. However, the roles of the citizen journalist and the slacktivist are already stirring a lot of attention.

Slacktivism still helps the cause of real activism because it will draw attention to the issues that matter. This was the case of the video – uploaded on YouTube – of two women beaten and molested in Ejigbo area of Lagos. Those who cared enough shared the links till it became a march on the Lagos State House of Assembly.

The recent online mobilizaion for justice for the 12 applicants who died during the Nigerian Immigration exercise is another example. These ‘click and share’ campaigns help to increase public awareness of important issues and even if only one out of every 1,000 people who hear of a cause get off their computer to do something about it, it is still better than nothing.

However, the slacktivist needs to move beyond click and share. Beyond  the issues of people sleeping during the National Conference which seemed the sensational part of the news, there are the main issues of youth under-representation and the impact that will have on implementation of the issues discussed.

There is the need to focus on activities that create direct impact and response. This was the case of the brilliant lawyers giving the Federal Road Safety Commmmission and the Lagos State Government sleepless nights as they challenge the validity of a deadline on new number plates and tolling on the Ikoyi Bridge respectively in Court.

Will the slacktivist be relevant in 2015?

That remains to be seen. However the deciding factor that may shift the outcome of elections is the slacktivist. Previous elections have always been decided by the lower class; artisans, market women and the unemployed; a category of people who are easily cajoled, bribed and convinced by simple political sloganeering.

If Tweets were votes in 2015, the youths will have a thunderous voice; If tweets were votes, the possibilities that rigging will occur will be minimal; if tweets were votes the debate between 19 and 16 will not arise; if tweets were votes some others will wish there was an ‘undo’ button. But it is a pipe dream. It won’t count; sharing tweets and posting images and sharing them won’t count as votes, the massive population of youths and the slacktivists in us will have to be online, yet physically present, on-ground and actively involved in the political process to make any significant impact. If things are done right, the slacktivist might as well be a significant factor in the 2015 elections.

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did it fall?

-Deola Kayode/Punch

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