Essay on Slacktivism: Impact on Society and Social Causes

This essay delves into the concept of slacktivism, a prevalent trend in modern society where individuals express support for social causes through feel-good strategies, such as online petitions and challenges. The essay explores how social media is utilized to raise awareness and examines the advantages and disadvantages of slacktivism. It presents examples of student protests and analyzes whether online actions translate to sustained engagement. The essay highlights how slacktivism can spark conversations and draw attention to social issues, while also acknowledging its potential limitations, such as a lack of public support or failure to achieve desired outcomes. Ultimately, the essay concludes that while slacktivism can promote social causes, it may not always lead to meaningful change.

Running head: SLACKTIVISM
Slacktivism
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SLACKTIVISM
One of the most common trends in the modern society is the concept of slacktivism.
The term “slacktivism” refers to the feel-good strategies which are used by the individuals of
a society in support of a social cause or a type of social issue itself. Some of these slacktivist
actions which an individual might find in the society includes the internet petitions by the
individuals or involving themselves in particular type of challenges to grab the attention and
the interest of the people in the society themselves. In the modern times, the groups are using
social media as a method of building awareness among the people in the society themselves.
The purpose of this essay is to discuss the concept of slacktivism and how it
affects the individuals in the society in the modern times.
By conducting research on the subject matter of slacktivism itself, it can be said that
the slacktivism in a way can both hurt and help the individuals of the society itself. The
author presents the example of the students surrounding a police car and demanding the
release of a particular student. By analysing this, the researchers conducting the surveys
claimed the fact that just because the students had protested at that time does not mean that
they will protest such issues in the future (Muslic, 2019). However, the researchers were also
of the opinion that the students who supported one type of social cause in the present scenario
are likely to participate in supporting an even greater cause than the one which they have
done before.
The concept of slacktivism is said to have both advantages as well as disadvantages in
the present case scenario (Jones et. all, 2017). While analysing the advantages, the readers are
of the opinion that the c0nceopt had originated form the social media itself and hence, it can
be used to draw the attention of the readers using social media itself. In addition to this, it is
also said by the readers of the article that the concept of slacktivism sparks conversations and
debates about the subject matter of the social issues which are being supported by the

2SLACKTIVISM
individuals who participate in such movements themselves. Also, these movements tend to
get viral which attracts a lot of audiences and spectators in the movement (Muslic, 2019).
Similarly, the concept of slacktivism also tends to have a number of disadvantages in
the society itself. The first disadvantage which it gets is that it sometimes, does not get much
support from the public themselves. In addition to this, sometimes, it might fail to get the
desired result which was intended by the launcher of the movement. All these reasons prove
to be the bad side of slacktivism (Essig, 2014).
Thus, from the above paragraphs, it can be concluded that slacktivism is indeed one of
the most common phenomenon in the modern world itself. While the concept of slacktivism
can be used to motivate and promote support for a social cause, it can sometimes, fail to
achieve the desired results, leading to the failure of the movement in the society itself.

3SLACKTIVISM
Reference List
Essig, K., 2014. Activism or Slacktivism. How Social Media Hurts and Helps Student
Activism. Retrieved from News for St. Louis: http://news. stlpublicradio. org/post/activism-
or-slacktivism-how-social-media-hurts-and-helps-student-activism.
Jones, A. A., & Jones, A. A. (2017). Challenging "Slacktivism": Activism on Social Media Is
Not Enough. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/challenging-slacktivism-
activism-on-social-media_b_5817c2dbe4b09b190529c8ae
Muslic, H. (2019). What is Slacktivism and is it Even Helping? Retrieved from
https://nonprofithub.org/social-media/what-is-slacktivism-does-it-help