Clicktivism refers to online activism and raising awareness of issues through social media. While clicktivism can effectively spread awareness of issues to large audiences, it is often criticized for being a shallow or "slacktivist" form of engagement that does not translate to real-world action or problem solving. The document discusses both benefits and limitations of clicktivism, concluding that it has potential value but must be paired with substantive on-the-ground activism to fully address complex issues.

1. a presentation by
Charlie Gray
prepared for
Prof. Sidneyeve
Matrix
FILM 260
June 3, 2016
CLICKTIVISM
a (flawed) force for good
Image: “Archenhold Oberschule” by Ralf Roletschek. CC 3.0

2. what is clicktivism?
Clicktivism is
making “use
of the
internet as
a tool for
influencing
public
opinions or
achieving
political or
social aims”
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Images: “Svengraph Imac” by Svengraph. CC 3.0 & “Soldiers aid 2010 Haiti earthquake refugees” by Roosewelt Pinheiro. CC 3.0

3. clicktivism platforms
Sites like Avaaz, MoveOn, Change.Org and 38 degrees operate with the purpose of
encouraging and facilitating social online activism. These platforms are where clicktivism
content is born, ready for social media sharing. They also provide activists with resources for
mobilizing their backers and taking direct action toward accomplishing their goals. 124
Image: “Helping the homeless” by Gary Dee. CC 2.0

4. social media clicktivism
Clicktivism also thrives
through sharing on
various social media
platforms such as
Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram. This is popular
with young people, who
care what others think
and meticulously create a
social good footprint on
these platforms for
others to see.
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Image: “CH-NB-Swiss Open Cultural Hackathon 2015-Picture-039” by Swiss National Library. CC 4.0

5. Clicktivism, though not
always undertaken for
the right reasons, can
play an important and
constructive role in
raising awareness of
certain issues.
However, it must be
accompanied by direct
action in order for
issues to be properly
addressed and resolved.
case in point Image: “MAP Medicines Delivered in Cote d’Ivoire” by Mapintl. CC 4.0

6. curated self-exhibition
Engaging in social forms
of clicktivism like sharing
articles and petitions is
part of how we construct
“our social selves”,
“keystroke by keystroke”.
In doing so, we are
“curating the exhibition
of [a] self” who cares
about important issues,
even if this is not the
case.
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Image: “Finance Meeting Paris 2012-02-18 n12” by Marie-Lan Nguyen. CC 3.0

7. slacktivist self-satisfaction
Passive acts of
clicktivism can
have “a placebo
effect” that leads
people to think
”they’re effecting
change and doing
good” even if they
never have to take
real action or
leave their
comfort zone.
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Image: “Friends with Mobile Phones” by Garry Knight. CC 2.0

8. A majority (62%)
of Americans
obtain news from
social media.
Therefore, our
friends and the
public figures we
follow exert a
massive influence
over the
information we
consume.
a changing media landscape
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Image: “U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, holds a Facebook town hall meeting with
U.S. Service members from his desk at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.” by MC1 Daniel Hinton. Public Domain (U.S. Military)

9. scalability benefits
This increased social connectivity makes it easy to learn and spread information about
worthy causes, creating wide-scale awareness without a large budget. 1
Image: “Social Network Diagram” by DarwinPeacock. CC 3.0

10. reaching a wider audience
Clicktivism
campaigns
attract enormous
numbers of
followers and
amass them into
movements,
which are often
decentralized
and can be
disorganized.
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Image: “Black Lives Matter – Downtown Minneapolis (22886247943)” by Tony Webster. CC 2.0

11. springing to action
Clicktivism was the driving force behind the Arab Spring, an early-2010s wave of revolutionary
political action in the Arab world. One Egyptian activist explained, “we use Facebook to
schedule the protests . . . Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world.” 13
Image: “Tahrir Square on July 29 2011” by Ahmed Abd El-Fatah. CC 2.0

12. stifling voices
In the wake of the
Arab Spring’s
success, oppressive
governments have
recognized the
information-
dissemination
potential of
clicktivism hubs like
Facebook and
banned their use.
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Image: “Defense.gov photo essay 110110-F-6655M-017” by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison. Public Domain (U.S. Government)

13. lack of engagement
People reading
about issues
online often do
not give them
their full
attention,
leading
clicktivism to be
a disengaged
and passive
activity for
most.
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Image: “Bored girl” by Greg Westfall. CC 2.0

14. funding imbalances
The flashiest, best-marketed causes attract disproportionate donation while other worthy
causes go unnoticed.
The voices of older people may not be heard, as they spend far less time online. 8
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Image: “Amarna House Care Home York” by Avery Healthcare. CC 4.0

15. Issues related to
public awareness
deficits such as
mental health
stigma are prime
targets for
effective uses of
clicktivism, such
as the Bell Let’s
Talk campaign.
when clicktivism works
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Image: “Melancholia” by OLESYAVAS. CC 4.0

16. awareness can be valuable
Some claim that
merely spreading
awareness is lazy,
but successful
campaigns such as
the ALS Ice Bucket
Challenge prove
that just spreading
awareness can bring
enormous financial
benefits to a cause.
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Image: “Mission Accomplished – ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (14848289439)” by Anthony Quintano. CC 2.0

17. when clicktivism fails
In response to the
kidnapping of 276
girls by Boko Haram,
Michelle Obama and
other celebrities
implored the world to
#BringBackOurGirls.
But despite her
political clout, this
viral marketing effort
was not followed by
any direct action.
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Image: “Michelle-obama-bringbackourgirls” by Michelle Obama. Public Domain (U.S. Government)

18. awareness can be insufficient
Causes that require
government action
cannot be solved with
public awareness alone.
Viral clicktivism
campaigns like Kony
2012 often fail because
they oversimplify
complex issues and are
unable to mobilize their
supporters into taking
concrete political action.
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Image: “Kony 2012 Posters in Washington, DC” by Uncommon fritillary. CC 3.0

19. real-world activism
To be truly valuable,
clicktivism must be
accompanied by real-
world activism (e.g.
sending letters to
government officials,
advocacy meetings,
labour strikes, sit-ins and
public demonstrations).
Otherwise, these
campaigns fall victim to
“slacktivism”.
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Image: “Jsddhakarallyinu (69)” by Soman. CC 2.5

20. engendering direct action
To translate awareness into direct action, charities can establish corporate partnerships
and create engaging digital platforms for consumer donors to bring greater visibility to their
causes, leading to more donations and direct volunteer involvement. 7
Image: “Habitat for Humanity (3619985406)” by Tulane Public Relations. CC 2.0

21. conclusion
Clicktivism, while it can
spring from a place of
narcissism or one of
genuine social concern,
has the potential to do a
great deal of good for
society. But it is only
one side of the coin; it
must paired with
substantive real-world
action in order to fully
solve tough challenges.
Image: “Can You Smile Like Us? by Faisal Akram. CC 2.0

22. course sources
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Conference on Digital Ecosystems and Technologies (DEST), Campione d’Italia. 1-6. Retrieved
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2016.
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Wu, Y., C. Ware, S. Damnee, H. Kerherve & A. Rigaud (2015). Bridging the technology gap in older
adults: A study from an initiative to inform older adults about technologies. Clinical
Interventions in Aging, 193-200. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
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23. found sources
Belluz, J. (2014, August 20). The truth about the Ice Bucket Challenge: Viral memes shouldn’t dictate
our charitable giving. Vox. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
Berlatsky, N. (2015, January 7). Hashtag activism isn’t a cop-out. The Atlantic. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
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Center. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
Howard, E. (2014, September 24). How ‘clicktivism’ has changed the face of political campaigns. The
Guardian. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
Kassim, S. (2012, July 3). Twitter revolution: How the Arab Spring was helped by social media. Mic:
Policy.Mic. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
MacMillan Dictionary (n.d.) Clicktivism. MacMillan Dictionary BuzzWord. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
Quigley, J. (2016, January 27). Bell Let’s Talk Day lifted ‘cloak of secrecy’ around mental illness, say
advocates. CBC News. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
Taylor, A. (2014, December 16). Was #Kony2012 a failure? The Washington Post. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
Williams, C. (2011, January 28). How Egypt shut down the internet. The Telegraph. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
All graphics have Creative Commons licenses or are otherwise in the public domain (as indicated in
the individual image credits), and all graphics were retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
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