The document discusses the debate around clicktivism and online activism versus traditional offline activism. It provides examples of how social media campaigns have brought awareness to issues but often failed to create meaningful change. However, it also cites cases where clicktivism has directly led to fundraising successes, like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raising $98 million. Overall, it argues that while social media activism has limitations, it can be an important first step and should not be dismissed as it may raise awareness of issues and encourage some real-world participation and donations.

1. F O R T H E G R E A T E R G O O D ,
CLICKTIVISM
O R
ACTIVISM
B Y Z I Y U E WA N G
Right image: Jason Howie via Flickr
Left image: Jean-Philippe Bourque via Flickr

2. The Oxford English Dictionary defines
“clicktivism” as “the use of social
media and other online methods to
promote a cause.” [1]
Image: FirmBee via Pixabay

3. Why more and
more people
and
organizations
are using
social media
platforms to
promote social
causes?
Image:geralt via Pixabay

4. IT CAN CREAT A
“RIPPLE
EFFECT”
“Once an idea or
concept has
reached a tipping
point it will then
spread very quickly
and with a chain
reaction.”[2]
Image:sea turtle via Flickr

5. “Through the ripple
effect,a small
action can create
disproportionate
effectcompared to
original
resources.”[2]
Image:JohnWatson via Flickr

6. “Boko Haram, a Nigerian radical Islamic
militia violently opposed to western
education and culture, abducted 270
schoolgirls.
Outraged Nigerians took to social media
with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls,
which swept around the world in more
than 3 MILLION retweets.” [4]
Image:Russ Allison Loar via Flickr

7. “Even Michelle Obama,
America’s First Lady, posed
holding a placard with the
hashtag.” [4]
BUT…is the
clicktivism
working here?
Image:Wikipedia.org via Google Image

8. NOT REALLY
The kidnappings are ongoing.
Amnesty International estimate
that over 2000 girls have been
abducted by Boko Haram since
the beginning of 2014, with many
forced into sexual slavery.[6]
Images:Xavier J.Peg via Flickr

9. Why
online campaign
is not effective as
offline activism?
There are too many things
going on at the same time on
the Internet. It all goes too
fast.[7]
Image:Chris Moore via Flickr

10. “If you blink,you will miss your
chanceto sign the petition,
save the child,or raise
awareness before a newer,
more pressing problem comes
along. With offline activism,
you dedicated yourself to the
slow fix of one problem area,
but theinternet does not have
timefor slow change.”[7]
Left image:Amnesty Finland via Flickr
Right image:Elijah van der Giessen via Flickr

11. “ O F T H E 7 0 % W H O S A I D
T H EY U S ED DI G I TA L
M EDI A TO L EA R N A B O U T
C H A N G ES T H EY C A N M A K E
I N T H EI R L I V ES TO C R EAT E
P O S I T I V E S O C I A L O R
EN V I R O N M EN TA L C H A N G E,
O N LY 25% M A DE
C H A N G ES . ” [ 4 ]
U.S. public relations firm Cone
Communications surveyed 1,200 Americans
for its 2014 DigitalActivism Study.
Image:Johan Larsson via Flickr

12. Image:modezero via Flickr
The simpleact of clicking
makes people feel like
they are makinga
changeand doing
something good without
taking responsibilities
and risks, so why not? [5]

13. Is supporting social issues and crisis
on Facebook and Twitter just useless?
Image:Mike Mozart via Flickr

14. THE UNICEF TAP
PROJECT
“The Tap Project invites
people to take a break from
their smartphones while our
mobile app tracks their
downtime.The longer they
stay unplugged, the more their
sponsors pump funds into
UNICEF’s clean water
programs.” [3]
Image:Julien Harneis via Flickr

15. “In 2014, 2.6 million UNICEFTap
Project participants from the U.S.,
Australia, South Korea, China,
Germany and 20 other countries
across the globe generated more than
1 million dollars in clean
water funding. ”[3]
Image:Brett L. via Flickr

16. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
$15.6 millionraised from July 29 to August 18, with
$8 millionraised between August14 and 18 alone! [1]
Image:Anthony Quintano via Flickr

17. In just one month, the
challenge raised
98.2 million
dollars for amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis,
raising more than years
of their offline
fundraising efforts. [8]
Image:clement127 via Flickr

18. Serbian floods
“Whilethe government of Serbia appealed to both citizens andbusinesses to donate food
andclothes, Twitter users launcheda special website calledpoplave.rs, which containeda
mapof the flood zone andthe distribution efforts, alongwith a forumsection where people
couldreport information.
Messages of support also poured inacross Twitter, with hashtags #poplave and
#SerbiaFloods.” [10]
Image:European Commission DG ECHO via Flickr

19. Image:mkhmarketing via Flickr
“Don’t think a click won’t count. That Facebook
share graphic or the iPhone app petition has an
overall affect for a campaign.”[9]

20. Conclusion:
“We recognize that the Internet is a big,
noisy place, and that messages can get lost in
the shuffle.But we can’t ignore the role that
technology and digital activism can play in
service to our overall mission.” [3]
Sometimes social media could only help for
raising awareness, but that is the first step to
start social good.
Image:Kathleen Donovan via Flickr

21. 1. Sharma, Ritu. Stop Pouring Ice on Clicktivism. N.p.,20 Aug. 2014.Web.5 June 2016.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ritusharma/stop-pouring-ice-on-click_b_5692555.html>.
2. Bresciani,Sabrina, and Andreas Schmeil. Social Media Platforms for Social Good. N.p.,18 June 2012.Web.5 June
2016.
3. Stern, Caryl M. In Praise of Clicktivism. N.p.,31 May 2015.Web.5 June 2016.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caryl-m-stern/in-praise-of-clicktivism_b_6978314.html>.
4. Kielburger, Craig, and Marc Kielburger. A click is not enough to have impact on the world. N.p.,10 Apr. 2015.
Web.5 June 2016. <http://cnews.canoe.com/CNEWS/World/2015/04/10/22337541.html>.
5. Matrix, Sidneyeve."Module 4: Social Good ." Queen's University. Kingston. 30 May 2016.Web.5 June 2016.
<https://vimeo.com/168635879>.
6. Shearlaw, Maeve. Did the #bringbackourgirls campaign make a difference in Nigeria?.N.p.,14 Apr. 2015.Web.5
June 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/14/nigeria-bringbackourgirls-campaign-one-year-
on>.
7. Slacktivism:Yes, it is all bad..UBC, 1 Nov. 2013.Web.5 June 2016.
<https://blogs.ubc.ca/milleri/2013/11/01/slacktivism-yes-it-is-all-bad/>.
8. Baker, Hannah. Activism or Slacktivism: Can Social Media Cause Social Change?.N.p.,n.d.Web.5 June 2016.
<http://www.likeable.com/blog/2015/7/activism-or-slacktivism-can-social-media-cause-social-change>.
9. Moore, Garth. When clicking counts: In defense of slacktivism and clicktivism. N.p.,3 May 2012.Web.5 June
2016. <https://www.one.org/us/2012/05/03/when-clicking-counts-in-defense-of-slacktivism-and-clicktivism/>.
10. Cuenta, Kristel. 4 Ways Social Media is Utilized for Social Good. N.p.,18 Aug. 2014.Web. 5 June 2016.
<https://www.searchenginejournal.com/4-ways-social-media-utilized-social-good/111332/>.