Will Mount Isa Rise Above The Corporate Giants or Fall To The Wayside Thanks To Slacktivism?
Imagine if you had the choice to go home to Mount Isa, a rural, outback Queensland town and see your family for a weekend, or fly to Denpasar in Bali for a holiday. If you’re like me then you’ll probably end up choosing the cheapest option. So let’s compare airfares for these two destinations, departing from Brisbane, Queensland. As of the 10th of August, 2015 it would cost you $268 to fly, one way to Bali but to fly interstate to Mount Isa, one-way, it would cost you $361.
Many people who either live in Mount Isa, like myself, or have family and friends there have known about this price jump for quite a while now, however this price inflation has received a lot more publicity as of late. This is because some passionate residents of the ‘Mount Isa Community’ who started a petition to get the attention of Qantas and call for their flights to be more affordable. This petition was created five weeks ago and is currently 1000 signatures away from their target of 7500. They have also been using the hashtag #TheFightForFlightsInIsa on Facebook.
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Google Maps showing the location of Brisbane, Mount Isa and Danpasar (Bali)[/caption]
Many of these petitions and hashtags happen in support of a range of different causes through this new-found form of activism. Activism began all the way back with the printing press around the 18th century however as times have evolved and technology has become more integrated in our lives, social media and online petitions have gained popularity as a way to stand up against the ‘big guys’. Though I feel that this is a great opportunity to go out and help change your world it has also fostered ‘slacktivism’ which represents someone who thinks all they have to do it press one button to contribute and everything will then work out. This concept has seen many causes both succeed in their goal, like the campaign to stop Seventeen magazine photoshopping their models and foster slacktivism like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge which was amazing in regards to awareness about the condition however people slowly began only sharing the videos and statuses online and not actually taking part in the challenge or donating the money. This slacktivism will be a factor in deciding how expensive it will be to fly back to my beloved Mount Isa.
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Even Snoopy knew about slacktivism[/caption]
Huseyin Cahit Nalbantoglu conducted a study titled ‘Digital Activism: Social Movements in the Digital Age’ which observed the strengths and weaknesses of digital activism. Here he identified that 93% of variation in digital activism is actually caused by other factors outside that digital sphere. This highlights many questions people have as to whether or not activism has been degraded by social media or if it has flourished because of it.
Let’s start at the top, with the introduction of this technological age it has brought with it many changes in activism. Gone are the days where we have to physically get ourselves to a destination to stand in the sun for hours to protest for our cause. God forbid! Now it’s much simpler. By logging onto websites like Change.org you can create your own petition, then and there. You can also support a cause that’s based in a country on the opposite side of the world because we now also have the opportunity to engage with these people through this platform. Social movement is less restricted now that these walls have been broken down and conversation amongst those with similar interests is so much simpler.
This is the case with the Mount Isa Airfare situation. Mount Isa is a remote town in North-West Queensland and so simply petitioning in that one town wouldn’t have made a huge impact. We have around 22 thousand people living here, that wouldn’t have made a splash at Qantas. However thanks to social media and online petitions people from people all around Australia have the opportunity to get involved and fight the corporate giants, so to speak.
Though, it has created a complacency in supporting causes. Yes, you may simply sign your name and contribute to a petition. Yes, you can connect to and support people you may never have heard of without the internet and yes, these online petitions have helped change the world. However not all of them work, in fact many fall short due to a multitude of reasons, one of these, is slacktivism. People can now sign the petition and walk away, they may not even know what the given cause completely stands for just like with the Kony 2012 campaign where there was a lack of direction and physical commitment to the cause. Nalbantoglu explains in his study that the bonds between the participants can be weak due to the lack of personal contact with the people you’re siding with. It is simply not enough anymore to solely rely on social media to promote your campaign, which is why the activist’s that were against the use of Photoshop in Seventeen magazine organised a physical protest while there was still hype around their cause. Yes, a petition can be promoted through social media, but there must also be a physical movement in order to let the campaign be successful.
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The Global Digital Activism Data Set Codebook[/caption]
The Global Digital Activism Data Set Codebook defines success though digital activism as “achieving the stated or implied goal of the digital action’ so this is incredibly simple. Either you did change Qantas’ mind on the airfares or you didn’t and in this case Mount Isa has not yet been successful in their petition. Though it’s been advertised online a lot recently they’re yet to reach their target and the only response they’re received from Qantas so far is that they offer “very competitive fares.”
But what if the given petition and social movement doesn’t work out and the protest fails? Other than a few snickers from the person/ organisation/ government you’re trying to take down there’s really no repercussions (unless you’ve done something illegal in the process). So in comparison to physical protesting there’s a lot less to lose when taking on those corporate giants.
Digital activism doesn’t always succeed and a lot more work is needed than simply posting the petition link online and so with developments, online social movements can be brilliant and slacktivism a thing of the past. Persistence and determination are needed to stand up for your cause and encourage supporters to get out there and promote and participate in the movement and encourage them not to give into the ideology of slacktivism.
There’s a quote that says “Dreams don’t work unless you do”, well neither does digital activism.
