Slacktivism And Social Activism

Slacktivism has become the term used for advocacy through likes and shares in social media since critics argue slacktivism provides no aid the cause being advocated. Critics argue that slacktivism is slowly ruining advocacy by making the public lazier in donating to a cause when slacktivism has the opposite effect. Slacktivism helps advocates voice their opinions by providing benefits through its large number of views and support it can acquire in a limited amount of time and change how advocacy is done through social media due to how effective it is in garnering support. Slacktivism can be the start in drawing people into an organization's goal. Schlumpf educates readers that slacktivism aids in getting their views out, but also for donations.

Pfeifle argues that although slacktivism allows advocates to support a cause without learning the facts, it can still provide substantial changes through just a simple like or share. He states that “People are using social media to hunt war criminals, win the White House, defeat an American House Speaker, change banking regulations and overthrow dictators” (Pfeifle 606). Through the simple deed of liking a picture or sharing it. He argues that the 850,000 “lazy” likes on the Kony case that improved the world through the touch of one button. Slacktivism has allowed change to be virtually

Corvese argues that although slacktivism allows the public to be informed of an issue it does little to help the cause. Slacktivism is known to be a “Satisfying and convenient for the individual to show concern for an issue, those in need of support received little benefit” (Corvese 600). Pictures through social media informs viewers about current topics but the likes and shares that the viewer has provided no benefit to the cause. Although a minority of people don’t help the cause that they share over social media the majority in reality do. Thanks to research people know that those who claim they support an organization through social media are just as likely to donate to that cause as people who don’t. In addition, they are also twice as likely to donate their time to the cause compared to those who don’t proving that slacktivism is not just a lazy form of advocacy but an effective form to garner support from the