More than just Mickey Mouse
Those of you on Facebook will not have failed to notice that over the last few days the home page has been taken over by cartoon characters united in the 'fight against child abuse'. Those of you on Twitter may also have noticed just how many people are deriding it for being a waste of everybody's time. Several bloggers have been typing furiously to point out that something as frivolous as a picture of Top Cat can do nothing real to stop child abuse: if people want to do something, why don't they donate money or lobby parliament or campaign for awareness instead?
They're right, of course. All of the Tom & Jerry thumbnails in the world won't end the abuse of children. But they're wrong in saying that the trend is a complete waste of everyone's time. It's easy to sneer at these things as being throwaway, but this trend has been undeniably positive for the NSPCC: thousands of people have expressed support for their cause, papers have filled column inches about the their charity, and some people have even been inspired to go further and donate money to them too. All this without any expense or, indeed, any effort on behalf of the charity it is benefiting.
Of course everyone who has changed their profile picture could do more to fight child abuse. I'm sure everyone blogging about it could too. But everybody has their own level of engagement. For some, that might only ever be this. The important thing is that fun micro-actions like the cartoon character trend enable people who usually have low-or-no levels of engagement with charities to take part. Surely it's better to have these people involved in a tiny way than not at all. And who can tell - having been involved once - just how much further they might go the next time? Today's 'slacktivist' could be tomorrow's fundraiser, volunteer or activist. Why lock them out before they've even reached the front door?
If you would like to go further than Facebook, you can donate to the NSPCC here...
Becky your blog post sums it up. There is something odd about the cynical fury that was spewed across blogs earlier this week. As if somehow a show of solidarity, however gratuitous was insulting to those more committed to ending child abuse. I have heard it opined that actions like these "let people off the hook" and create placebo politics. My response was the somewhat less eloquent and diplomatic "Got a better idea?"
I love your phrase "harness the power of slacktivism" and when I quote you in my next post I'll include a link to your blog if that's ok. I can send you the copy before I post it for your approval. Is this alright?
Have a great weekend.
Edge
@jcravens42 Thanks for the comment. Actually, your blog post is much more constructive for charities going forward than the ones I read yesterday before writing this . That said, it does miss a very important point about the whole cartoon character thing: its origins had nothing to do with the charity it went on to benefit (indeed, even the country home to the charity it went on to benefit... see: http://www.seedol.com/20104968-cartoon-character-images-invade-facebook-profile-pictures.html). At some point someone/ some people changed their 'cut-and-paste-status' to mention the NSPCC and the ensuing popularity meant significant amounts of PR and donations without any effort or expense to the charity at all: that sounds like very real grass roots activism to me.
A great many people who have taken part will feel like they've done something without so much as even clicking through to a website or pausing to think about child abuse. In reality, these people probably wouldn't go any further even if the infrastructures you suggested were in place. But I don't believe in being too harsh on people who's entry level to engagement is low. Instead, I would celebrate that the initiative of those anonymous few was able to harness the power of their slacktivism en masse and benefit a charity. And try to think creatively about how to harness the potential of these 'one-clickers' again in the near future...
Oh, come now. We're not "typing furiously" nor are we saying it's "a complete waste of everyone's time." We're simply saying, "Here's what could be done so that these campaigns actually make a difference and don't cause people to think, 'I don't have to give money or volunteer; I can just click on something or change a Facebook photo and make a difference!" And, indeed, some people are thinking that way (look at questions on YahooAnswers from young people wanting to know what other no-time volunteering they can do like this). More at my blog: http://coyoteblog.posterous.com/slackervism-on-facebook-again
This meme would be the virtual equivalent of wearing a poppy, ribbon or wristband if it was officially associated with a charity. Unfortunately without the branding it does lose a major benefit of these other social actions in effectively spreading the word (like NHS, etc. twibbon activity).
Hopefully there will be enough peripheral activity to a) make people aware why people's profile pictures have changed b) give them enough info/ options to donate should they want to.
Great blog Beckie - I agree that different people have different entry levels to engage with issues like these and this is as good as any. Whether you love or loathe Facebook the fact is they have over 500m members and that presents a great opportunity for the NSPCC...