Technology has threaded its way through all spheres of life today, transforming the way we live, work and play. The advent of social media has influenced activism in the 21st century, creating meaningful change by lending a voice to the voiceless. Whilst terms like “performative activism” and “slacktivism” have also emerged to describe such digital activities as a mere token display of support, social media activism remains a key cornerstone in aiding societal discourse and raising awareness on pertinent issues.
A futile endeavour or a potent tool for change?
One common argument put forth by critics is how social media activism is ineffective for affecting social change. The act of sharing and liking social media posts is highly performative and does not actually benefit the cause. As a 2013 UNICEF immunisation campaign once underlined: “We have nothing against likes, but vaccines cost money”. This serves as a sound reminder to the public that Internet activities such as “liking” alone cannot substitute for real concrete actions like donating money to purchase vaccines for the less fortunate.
Certainly, it would be naïve to say that simply re-tweeting a hashtag or changing one’s profile picture on social media would amount to the same outcome as participating in civil society. Nevertheless, based on a recent study on “slacktivism”, one’s behaviour in the digital space can still be conceptualised as a form of collective action, reflecting consensus mobilisation. Online movements can persuade people to change their point of view, which is the first step before they would lend more significant support for it. Its low barriers to entry also mean that it has the reach to engage even those who are disinterested.
Take Monica Baey’s case for instance. Her sharing of a local campus voyeurism incident through a series of Instagram posts sparked a national debate on the stringency of punishments meted out against sexual offenders. Dubbed as Singapore’s #MeToo movement, her advocacy for sexual justice not only empowered other victims to vocalise their experiences but also called for greater scrutiny against similar cases. Evidently, the power of amplification on social media can be effective in driving positive change.
Performative activism or genuine allyship?
Another popular critique would be the lack of genuine allyship in the digital environment, wherein the underlying goal is not to create positive social change, but rather to derive personal satisfaction and boost one’s status. Indeed, it may seem that such a display would ring hollow, given that the motive is to garner support from their social media followers without actually following through. Hashtags such as #BlackOutTuesday involving millions of Instagram users sharing black squares have also generated much controversy for virtue signalling without actual real-life action.
However, it would be unfair to dismiss all instances of “feeling good” as performative activism without contributing substantial impact to social media activism. The positive emotions arising from engaging in digital activism can encourage users to take further collective action. According to a study on prosocial media sharing, online actions can spur one’s willingness to volunteer offline due to the desire to maintain consistency with their publicised position online.
For example, @wheretodapao is an Instagram account that was created to raise awareness on the predicament of local elderly hawkers following the ban on dine-in across F&B outlets during the pandemic. The account features images of stall owners with their stalls accompanied by short write-ups, and members of the public are encouraged to introduce new hawker stories by sharing the details with the admins. Consequently, this initiative has brought about an increase in footfall for some hawkers, thus demonstrating that even seemingly minuscule acts of online interaction can promote meaningful concrete action in reality as well.
Treading dangerous lines with cancel culture?
At present, the rise of “call-out culture” (or cancel culture) has also put digital activism under great scrutiny. It initially started off as part of the #MeToo movement for victims to call out their abusers to exact accountability. However, the term has now gained wide notoriety as a modern-day witch-hunt involving the trial of the Internet, where individuals are publicly shamed for their offensive conduct or opinion.
Recalling the Red Swastika School incident earlier this year, a Bentley driver was caught causing hurt to a security guard in a widely circulated video clip. Mistakenly identified by netizens as the driver, Mr Neo Tiam Ting became a victim of a wrongful witch-hunt. He received rude comments and was doxxed online by an Internet mob, consequently affecting the organisations that he was affiliated with.
It is critical to note that this is not activism. Former US President Barack Obama once outlined the clear distinction between cyberbullying and activism:
“Like if I tweet or hashtag about how you didn’t do something right or used the wrong verb, then I can sit back and feel pretty good about myself. … That’s not activism. That’s not bringing about change. If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not gonna get that far.”
Conveying the right message
Essentially, in this era of social media, online activism has proven to be a powerful tool for many to voice their concerns across borders whilst enticing them to act in line with their online stance to influence collective action.
However, we must still be mindful of what we post online. The key message of evoking positive change through online activism can easily be lost if activists only focus on harassing naysayers which may turn people away from the original cause instead.
As such, online activists should evaluate their own motivations and consider possible consequences when offering criticism, as clinical counsellor Anna Richards suggests. Another recommendation by Professor Anita Bright would be to adopt “calling in” in place of “calling out” as a gentler approach, where one addresses the wrongdoer’s behaviour privately to promote common understanding, rather than using public shaming as the first resort.
This should be the way forward in bringing positive social change through online activism.
Tan Wanxuan is a final year undergraduate at the Singapore Management University majoring in Politics, Law and Economics. She was an intern at IPS from December 2021 to February 2022.
Top photo from Unsplash.