Tackling ‘Slacktivism’: When Empathy Is Poured Into Charity
The sweltering summer of 2014 gave rise to what would become the world’s largest charity social media phenomenon. People all around the globe fought against the oppressive heat by pouring buckets of ice water over their heads under the name of charity.
Two years has passed since the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge swept numerous social media platforms, flooding users’ Facebook and Twitter with videos of people pouring ice water over their heads. Regarded as one of the world’s largest charity social media phenomenon, the Ice Bucket Challenge not only spread an awareness of the ALS disease but also succeeded in generating large sums of monetary donations. However, skeptics questioned the motives of the Challenge, claiming that the ALS Challenge promoted an act of mass “slacktivism”.
“Slacktivism,” first coined by Fred Clark in 1995, is the act of simply making one feel satisfied for thinking that one has contributed to a cause, normally via online activities. In short, instead of promoting practical solutions for a cause, social media campaigns often“[benefit] the egos of people participating in this so-called activism.”[1] One article published in Skeptoid writes: “The Internet is bursting at the seams with ways to make [social activism] easy: click a Facebook ‘Like’ button; sign an online petition; retweet a shocking photograph.”[2]
Such skepticism, however, is merely speculative. Cherry-picked cases of previously controversial social media activism such as “KONY 2012” and the petition platform change.org are often cited as failing cases of social media activism, mainly due to a lack of practical change. And while some social media campaigns do not result in a success, media’s frequent cynicism towards social media campaigns blind the positive effects of successful campaigns, one of which is the Ice Bucket Challenge.
In other words, the essence behind the demise of previous social media campaigns was mainly due to the lack of donations raised by the campaigns, which most people would regard as practical change- and this clearly wasn’t the case for the Ice Bucket Challenge.
During the course of the Challenge, over 17 million videos of people pouring buckets of ice water over their heads were uploaded onto Facebook alone. The number of uploads alone shows how much action a single motive provoked, and that the Ice Bucket Challenge was not a case of “slacktivism”, but a definitive result of mass activism caused by the viral nature of social media. How? The amount donation speaks for itself.
The dissemination of the challenge across Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube triggered a worldwide participation that induced more than $220 million for the ALS organization, a significant amount of donation compared to its typical annual budget of $20 million.
“It was important to us to recognize the incredibly viral nature of this social media phenomenon and to thank everyone who participated in the U.S. and around the globe.”
- Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of ALS Association
Skeptics, upon these figures, could dismiss the campaign as a mere provocation of a feel-good factor achieved by viewers through the click of a button. However, this is the ultimate advantage of social media- its power to invite compassionate users to donate small and large sums of money to charity, which in the end result in fundamental change- research that can further medical advancements to cure ALS.
The nature of social media opens a barrier-free entrance to a vocal mass of people that can powerfully assert empathy in our society [3]. In this case of the Ice Bucket Challenge, the “vocal mass” was users of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Furthermore, social media, in human history, has cumulated power through small actions, such as the simple acts of clicking ‘Like’ or ‘Share’ buttons after watching a campaign video. This, in turn, opens the opportunity to accomplish practical changes, such as generating monetary donations.
A recent article published by The Guardian states that “scientists funded with the proceeds have discovered a gene variant associated with the condition.” This is clearly a direct societal change driven by active social media campaigning by the ALS association. Looking at this example, it is imperative for proponents who argue such social media campaigning as ‘slacktivism’ to realize that change may not always come down to the amount of money generated, as it can also be the accumulation of achievements that agglomerates to contribute to the larger problem.
Another aspect that promoted the virality of the Ice Bucket Challenge was its ability to tie a mundane charity event to a social spectacle that encouraged audience participation. With its simple nature of becoming an advocate coupled with its entertainment value, the challenge became an entertainment for teenagers who lightheartedly dared each other to pour buckets of ice water over their heads. It became a strong motivation for the benefactors who donated small and large sums of money into ALS research. It became an advertisement for ALS patients to raise awareness of the disease. The Ice Bucket Challenge that some dismissed as a ‘slacktivist campaign’ created a chain of synergy effects that not only resonated within people’s soul but also led to quantifiable social change.
Of course, skeptics might assert that linking a serious charity with mere entertainment is morally wrongheaded. But as funny as it may sound, that was the campaign’s key to success: not ridiculing mentally and physically devastating events, but allowing users to support a social cause through empathetic mindsets, and providing inclusive opportunity tie oneself to a global chain of compassionate souls. And all this while, the Ice Bucket Challenge added an element of ‘fun’, which facilitated the propagation of the campaign.
An example? The recent phenomenon of Facebook users applying the French flag filter to their profile photos “[was] an act of mass compassion. Even more specifically: It [was] compassion that [had] been converted, via the Internet’s alchemy, into political messaging. It [was] empathy, quantified.”[4]
After all, pouring a bucket of ice water will not cure ALS. The Facebook “Like” button that one clicks after watching a friend’s #ALSIceBucketChallenge video is probably not helping anyone directly. But think of it in a wider context. The Ice Bucket Challenge could well have ended up as just another silly video posted on Facebook, silently buried in someone’s timeline.
If it were not for the “Like” and “Share” buttons pressed on Facebook that skeptics love to call “slacktivism”, the social charity phenomenon could never have achieved what it has today. The #IceBucketChallenge, once again, has clearly shown us that even the slightest action could make a big difference.
[1] Waddingham, Jonathan. “’Slacktivism’: Can Online Petitions and Stunts like the Ice Bucket Challenge Really Make the World Happier?” Independent, 21 May 2015. Web. 07 Jan. 2016.
[2] Dunning, Brian. “Slacktivism: Raising Awareness.” Skeptoid, 17 June 2014. Web. 07 Jan. 2016.
[3] How to Understand Power — Eric Liu. Dir. Eric Liu. Perf. Eric Liu. YouTube. YouTube, 4 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
[4] Garber, Megan. “#PrayForParis: When Empathy Becomes a Meme.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 16 Nov. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Articles Referred To:
ALS Association. “What Is ALS?” The ALS Association. National Health Council, 18 Dec. 2015. Web. 5 Jan. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Eutci7ack>.
Brown, Kara. “Pouring a Bucket of Ice Water Over Your Head Won’t Cure ALS.” Jezebel. Jezebel, 07 Aug. 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. <http://jezebel.com/pouring-a-bucket-of-ice-water-over-your-head-wont-cure-1617709029>.
Dunning, Brian. “Slacktivism: Raising Awareness.” Slacktivism: Raising Awareness. Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena, 17 June 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4419>.
Garber, Megan. “#PrayForParis: When Empathy Becomes a Meme.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 16 Nov. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/11/pray-for-paris-empathy-facebook/416196/>.
Guilardo, Paul. “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.” Charity Navigator. Charity Navigator, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1780>.
Hong, Zhibin. Ice Bucket Challenge. Digital image. New Mexico Family Center. New Mexico Family Center, 26 Aug. 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. <http://nmafc.org/2014/08/ice-bucket-challenge/>.
How to Understand Power — Eric Liu. Dir. Eric Liu. Perf. Eric Liu. YouTube. YouTube, 4 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. < http://www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html>.
Laird, Sam. “How Social Media Is Taking Over the News Industry [INFOGRAPHIC].” Mashable. Mashable, 18 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://mashable.com/2012/04/18/social-media-and-the-news/#Zd5X7ouE6ZqA>.
Nodrum, Amy. “Ice Bucket Challenge 2015: Can The ALS Association Turn Last Year’s Viral Phenomenon Into An Annual Fundraiser?” International Business Times. IBT, 26 Aug. 2015. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. <http://www.ibtimes.com/ice-bucket-challenge-2015-can-als-association-turn-last-years-viral-phenomenon-annual-2067736>.
Pressman, Peter. “Your Introduction to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.” About.com Health. About Health, 13 Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://neurology.about.com/od/ALS/a/Amyotrophic-Lateral-Sclerosis.htm>.
Rothschild, Mike. “The Ice Bucket Challenge: Awareness Is Not Money.” Skeptoid. Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <https://skeptoid.com/blog/2014/08/19/the-ice-bucket-challenge-awareness-is-not-money/>.
Sifferlin, Alexandra. “Here’s How the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Actually Started.” Time. Time, 18 Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://time.com/3136507/als-ice-bucket-challenge-started/>.
Waddingham, Jonathan. “’Slacktivism’: Can Online Petitions and Stunts like the Ice Bucket Challenge Really Make the World Happier?” Independent, 21 May 2015. Web. 07 Jan. 2016. <http://www.independent.co.uk/happylist/slacktivism-can-online-petitions-and-stunts-like-the-ice-bucket-challenge-really-make-the-world-10238301.html>.
Zeibiz. “Mark Zuckerberg And Bill Gates Accepts The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.” Zeibiz. Zeibiz, 15 Aug. 2014. Web. 27 July 2016. <http://www.zeibiz.com/2014/08/mark-zuckerberg-bill-gates-accepts-als-ice-bucket-challenge/>.
