In a way, 2014 could be called the year of online activism. Instead
of protestors seizing government buildings or campaigns on health
issues raising awareness at the grassroots, hashtags seized the public
social media timelines. Celebrities joined the bandwagon, with even the
US first lady tweeting, with her picture (of course for PR purposes),
“#BringBackOurGirls”. Bill Gates donated to the ALS research fund after
taking the Ice Bucket Challenge and there was a sudden spurt of men's
facial hair all over the world, including Bangladesh, in November. But
online activism has also come under fire and is derisively (and
justifiably so) called slacktivism or clicktivism. The spirit of
participation, and the understanding that drives people to the streets
for a common cause, is now measured in terms of click-rates, re-tweets
and how fast a hashtag went viral.
Activism has historically gone against abuses of power, inequality and greedy commercial ventures. When leftists complain activism itself has been reduced to marketing, it is no exaggeration. The message is carefully sample tested and taken through stages to appeal to the readers – a process no different from making an advertisement for hair products!
In Bangladesh, we jumped in and our Facebook statuses and Tweets talked of Gaza and Boko Haram. Reminiscent of the viral online activism against Kony (who still remains free) – but who remembers that now? Here's a recap, Joseph Kony, the Ugandan who had an army of child soldiers still remains free despite the viral activism that started against him in 2012. When responsibility ends after two clicks, one might feel good about being part of a wider picture, but it is foolish to think that equates to actually making a difference. So when it came to issues at home, where the mass of mindless sharers and re-tweeters could actually be part of ground level activism, the response was almost zero. Except for the committee for the protection of our natural resources, a few scattered leftist parties, and a handful of environmentalists, our activism ended before it began. Even the few who shared symbolic pictures of oil-drenched tigers, were met with regressive comments. We are part of online activism when it comes to a country other than ours; our general indifference and apathy come to light when the issues are our own.
Noam Chomsky, in an interview
about the nature of activism, pointed out that when it comes to issues,
rhetoric should not sway us. The hope that a leader will come from above
and help us out of our miseries is delusional. Martin Luther King only
became the leader and spokesperson of the civil rights movement when the
oppressed were themselves protesting. Online activism instead thinks
awareness and sharing of the issues to bring media attention to them is
enough, since another more worthy will actually make the changes.
Instead we saw stories about Michelle Obama tweeting about Boko Haram,
not the Nigerians on the street in the country who were
protesting not just the kidnapping but the wider issues of inequality,
corruption and security.
That is not to say that all online campaigns ended in failure. The ALS Ice Bucket campaign resulted in 100 million USD in donation for the cause. After Movember, the donations for men's cancer research reached 80 million USD from a meagre 4000. However, for the majority who take part in these campaigns, it has still been an issue of social currency – taking part becomes a way to show one's altruistic side on social media with the added benefit of the feel-good effect. As one university student who was seen sporting a beard points out, “I did it because it was an excuse not to shave for a month. But I don't see anything wrong with jumping on the bandwagon either. Most of my friends did.”
When activism becomes about click-rates and constant analysing of its reach, re-tweets and shares, it loses its very essence. As a study on the effectiveness of online campaign shows, majority of those who take part never translate it into something tangible later. Only those, who had a prior interest in the issue before the campaigns, were likely to follow up their online activities with real world equivalents. For the most, campaigns end as soon as they begin, a diluted form of promotion bereft of the ideas and ideologies that go with any movement.
It is a shame to see the beauty of the Sundarbans being slowly
engulfed in a patina of greed in the form of oil. As our greedy world
sees in the intricate canals of the forest only underexploited resources
for the generation to profit from, if the people do not rise up, the
oil spillage will be swept under the rug as soon as a more sensational
story breaks. For all the talk of Rampal on Facebook, and a profound
lack of mass movement, the power plant is on its way to be realised.
That in itself speaks more about the futility of social media as the
sole and end form of activism.
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The writer is a Feature Writer, Star Lifestyle, The Daily Star.
Activism has historically gone against abuses of power, inequality and greedy commercial ventures. When leftists complain activism itself has been reduced to marketing, it is no exaggeration. The message is carefully sample tested and taken through stages to appeal to the readers – a process no different from making an advertisement for hair products!
In Bangladesh, we jumped in and our Facebook statuses and Tweets talked of Gaza and Boko Haram. Reminiscent of the viral online activism against Kony (who still remains free) – but who remembers that now? Here's a recap, Joseph Kony, the Ugandan who had an army of child soldiers still remains free despite the viral activism that started against him in 2012. When responsibility ends after two clicks, one might feel good about being part of a wider picture, but it is foolish to think that equates to actually making a difference. So when it came to issues at home, where the mass of mindless sharers and re-tweeters could actually be part of ground level activism, the response was almost zero. Except for the committee for the protection of our natural resources, a few scattered leftist parties, and a handful of environmentalists, our activism ended before it began. Even the few who shared symbolic pictures of oil-drenched tigers, were met with regressive comments. We are part of online activism when it comes to a country other than ours; our general indifference and apathy come to light when the issues are our own.
That is not to say that all online campaigns ended in failure. The ALS Ice Bucket campaign resulted in 100 million USD in donation for the cause. After Movember, the donations for men's cancer research reached 80 million USD from a meagre 4000. However, for the majority who take part in these campaigns, it has still been an issue of social currency – taking part becomes a way to show one's altruistic side on social media with the added benefit of the feel-good effect. As one university student who was seen sporting a beard points out, “I did it because it was an excuse not to shave for a month. But I don't see anything wrong with jumping on the bandwagon either. Most of my friends did.”
When activism becomes about click-rates and constant analysing of its reach, re-tweets and shares, it loses its very essence. As a study on the effectiveness of online campaign shows, majority of those who take part never translate it into something tangible later. Only those, who had a prior interest in the issue before the campaigns, were likely to follow up their online activities with real world equivalents. For the most, campaigns end as soon as they begin, a diluted form of promotion bereft of the ideas and ideologies that go with any movement.
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The writer is a Feature Writer, Star Lifestyle, The Daily Star.
