Slactivate?
If you don’t want to miss new posts from this blog, you’d better click on my “Home” tab at the top, and then scroll way down to the bottom and enter your email address, then click “subscribe”. Because I’m pretty sure most people are like me: when they see that “so and so shared” something, they just flick right by it, hit delete, whatever. It’s impossible to read everything, that’s for sure, or even to read all the headlines.
Speaking of this “modern-day water cooler” (social media), how about some notes on an excellent Compassion article about How to be an Effective Social Media Slactivist?
Slactivism, hashtag activism, vanity activitism-these are a few different terms for the same thing: expressing support for a cause solely through social media. Sometimes it has little impact (e.g. #Kony2012 and #BringBackOurGirls); and sometimes it gets people to take action and actually can raise a significant amount of money (e.g. #BlackLivesMatter and ALSIceBucketChallenge).
So here are the hints Compassion gives, if you want to get on the positive side of it:
- Of course, as Christians we always want to start everything with prayer. And as Compassion says “meditate on your motives”, and ask yourself a few questions. It seems to be natural to just do things to look good, and social media certainly encourages that.
- Inform yourself. I try to not even click “Like” unless I’ve actually read the article. Did that once, learned my lesson! Being educated about what you’re advocating, goes a long way towards success at motivating others.
- Not all opinions need to be shared. There is someone on my newsfeed who always has a lot to say-I’ve learned to skim by her. On the other hand, there are friends who hardly ever Share something, and don’t really update their status that often: when they do, of course it grabs my attention! As Compassion says, sharing “opinions about everything and anything is a sure-fire way to lose credibility”. There are SO many good causes! Pick something you’re passionate about, and research it.
- “Don’t be an alarmist. [this point copied complete] Speak intelligently, not angrily. Speak with passion, not with vitriol. Speak with compassion, not hatred. Point people to accurate information to support your passion.”
- Share your story. This is where you can be personal, and vulnerable. Adds weight to the issue.
- Pray again. Double check what you’ve written, before hitting that “post” or “send” button!