Beyond a Repost
How can you utilize social media to be a better activist?
Click the links below to learn more about slacktivism, the duality of social media for activism, and solutions to transform your online platform for a substantial impact.
You can start with "What is Slacktivism?" and read the whole guide, or click one of the pages below.
What is slacktivism?
"Slacktivism (a portmanteau of slacker and activism) is a pejorative term for the practice of supporting a political or social cause by means such as social media or online petitions, characterized as involving very little effort or commitment." - Wikipedia
"The term [slacktivism] combines the words "slacker" and "activism" and posits that people who support a cause are performing simple measures are not truly engaged or devoted to making a change." - The Joint Programme of United Nations on HIV/AIDS
Synonyms/Related Terms: clicktivism, armchair activism, hashtag activism, performative activism
What are some examples of slacktivism?
Signing Internet petitions
Setting your profile picture banner that references a cause
Sharing an informational guide on your social media feed
Hashtags advocating a certain cause
Boycotting a product or service for a short period of time
Contributing ONLY your thoughts about a certain cause
Anything on social media that does not have a call to action
What are the advantages of slacktivism?
Provides more awareness / information about a certain social justice issueMore accessible to a larger audience due to social media accessCan inspire larger movements that have more real life calls to action (such as the impact of the #MeToo movement and the donations towards the Ice Bucket Challenge)
What are the disadvantages of slacktivism?
Deters the general user from becoming further engaged with social issues; a user who reshares a post may feel like a post creation was enough for activismOnly scrapes the surface for many topics that require further readings such as systemic racism, feminism, etc.May contain misinformation or disinformation that creates questionable credibility for a movementLimited time frame for awareness, especially for small actions such as changing a profile picture or using a particular hashtag
A height of slacktivism in 2020 was posting black squares for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Black Square Survey
Introduction to Black Tuesday and Black Squares
The black square posts originated a movement by two music executives Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas. Inspired by the music industry movement #TheShowMustBePaused, the two wanted to stop typical internet/offline action to bring attention to the injustices on the black and brown community. This sparked a nationwide day of acknowledgment, ranging from social media posts of black squares, to one-day business closures.
Although it brought great attention to the BLM movement, it also was widely criticized for its redirection from important information and work concerning the BLM movement. Users were encouraged to post hashtags to #BLM and #BlackLivesMatter on social media, which inadvertently created a black image wall on Instagram. A portion of the posts made by users vocalized their support without a list of resources or any sort of call to action. For more information, read this piece published by Vox Media here.
Survey Introduction
The BLM movement of 2020 heightened social media engagement from many accounts, ranging from personal users to larger business corporations. In response to this, I decided to conduct a survey about the black squares for Black Out Tuesday and general social media activism.
From September to November 2020, I asked my followers and subscribers of NCAAT’s Youth Newsletter about their perspectives on social media activism.
Survey Analysis
This survey was not meant to be for statistical, quantitative analysis. I acknowledge that my followers are mostly left-leaning individuals, ranging from strong leftists to moderate liberals. However, it was meant to gather a series of (left-leaning) perspectives and nuances about social media activism.
I received 23 responses hosted on the free survey creation website, Tripetto. All responses were anonymous and each individual consented to some of their responses published on the website.
Question 1: Did you post a black square on social media in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement?
One fourth of the respondents posted a black square. Here were some of the reasons they chose to:
“To show my support for the BLM movement and draw attention to the issues prevalent in our society”
“I felt as though I should join in directing people's attention to the BLM movement.”
“I wanted to show solidarity with the Black community in the aftermath of George Floyd's death and ensure that my Black connections knew they were supported.”
All individuals published their black squares on their Instagram page, which is statistically skewed since my personal advertisement for the post was made solely on Instagram itself.
One of the respondents who posted immediately took it down in fear of “performance activism,” stating “... I ended up deleting the post for fear that it was performative. I do remember I encouraged people to do more than post a black square, and to educate themselves on the movement.”
For those who answered no previously: Why did you not post a black square?
About 40% of the responses specifically cited “performance activism” as their reason for not posting a black square. The other respondents felt like it had no significance or addition to the BLM movement.
Question 3: What are your thoughts on seeing black squares on your social media feed?
The responses ranged from supportive to pointless, without much correlation with their own decision to post one. Of those who did not post a black square, these were some responses:
Feels like performance activism - “I think people want to post it to feel better about themselves for “participating” in activism but when it comes down to it they don’t educate themselves or do things that actually matter.”
No opinion - “I can’t really have an opinion because i am not black, however i didn’t think it contributed in any sense.”
Good for awareness, but that’s it - “Its good in a sense of bringing awareness to the issue but if there’s no other action than posting something, then its kind of pointless.”
Mixed reaction - “I was happy to see solidarity among multiple groups of people, but was concerned when people weren’t listening to the advice of black creators about not using the blm hashtag. It also made me annoyed when I saw people from my high school who have made racists comments in the past posting it because it felt like they were just doing it for public appearance/to make themselves feel good.”
Happy (sometimes) - “It warmed my heart at times depending who I saw doing it (for example someone that I didn’t realize would know about it or be supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement).”