The Rise of #Activism or #Slacktivism?
Do hashtags contribute to political change?
I do not consider myself a political person, I have never participated in a rally or protest. The only time I can remember making a conscious effect in politics other than the compulsory elections, was when Australia asked for marriage equality in 2017. I had to first register and then walk down to the post office with my vote, pretty minimal but like I said I’m not a political person.
Twitter has allowed people to become activists and support a cause with a simple hashtag. Is this an example of online protest empowering? Or is this just a form of ‘slacktivism’ at its finest? Slacktivism is the idea that an individual is at home on twitter in their pyjamas using hashtags as a form of protest rather than participating in ‘real world’ politics like rallies. It has been suggested that this small-scale action of a simple hashtag could never give rise to political mobilisation on a larger scale. I would strongly disagree with this statement.
Globalisation has allowed people to jump onto an important issue from anywhere around the world. Twitter has helped drive change by allowing new “tiny acts” of political participation in support of important issues such as sharing, liking and hashtags. Successful social movements that have utilised hashtags include #metoo and #blacklivesmatter. Enhancing civic activism on social media using hashtags has the potential to make people more attentive to social problems around them and more active in real life. Hashtag-based activism is the first step in policial engagement which leads to offline activism such as rallies and protests.
In the world of politics, the word “abortion” has headlined the media in the last year. In Australia, we are trying to legalise abortion, while in some parts of the United States (US), they are trying to criminalise it. The hashtag was once an atomic symbol is now utilised in some of the most significant events in history. Professors Bruns and Burgess have proposed that hashtags allow certain communities to emerge and form. This will enable them to connect and respond very quickly to a particular event or issue. This was evident on my feed with the anti-abortion bill that was passed across the US. Many people took to social media to broadcast their frustration about this controversial topic using the #youknowme.
I wanted to do some digging to see how the hashtag was created. It didn’t take long, most online newspapers were writing about the celebrity Busy Philipps. It all started when she came out on her talk show ‘Busy Tonight’ to discuss the anti-abortion bill. She said “1 in 4 women in America has had an abortion. You may be thinking: I don’t know anyone that would have an abortion,” she continued, “well, you know me.” Busy later took to Twitter to ask other women to come forward with the #youknowme to accompany their own abortion stories. This hashtag aimed to reduce the stigma surrounding this issue and hopefully make waves to ban this anti-abortion bill.
I would argue that these tiny acts are powerful in the success of social movements. This is because of the visibility hashtags bring to a political issue. When someone uses a hashtag in their tweet, it is a deliberate act to make their contribution to the problem visible to a broader audience. In the context of collective action, usually, if you participate, then people around you will follow. This was evident in the #youknowme movement. Hashtags may seem trivial, but in this example, the hashtag was used as a political tool for women across the US to tell their personal abortion experience. With the help of a hashtag, these women have become activists and ingrained themselves into a large scale social movement.
I believe this form of activism does play an integral role in political change. The fact that anyone can become political with the use of a hashtag is eye-opening. With the example of Busy Philipps, her hashtag has pushed her into the spotlight. She presented a statement with law professors, activists and medical professionals in the House Judiciary Committee Hearing around the Threats to Reproductive Rights in America on June 4, 2019.
When the yes vote was approved in Australia, my small contribution that took no time out of my day has changed many Australian lives. All I did was send something in a post office, much like the minimal effort involved in using a hashtag. But it’s undeniable that these small acts by everyday people contribute to greater political change.
