Editing Slacktivism (section)

==Criticism of slacktivism==
Various people and groups express doubts about the value and effectiveness of slacktivism. Particularly, some skeptics argue that it entails an underlying assumption that all problems can be seamlessly fixed using social media, and while this may be true for local issues, slacktivism could prove ineffective for solving global predicaments.<ref>{{cite web|last=Morozov|first=Evgeny|title=From Slacktivism to Activism|url=http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/09/05/from_slacktivism_to_activism|access-date=November 1, 2011|archive-date=November 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113155043/http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/09/05/from_slacktivism_to_activism|url-status=dead}}</ref> A 2009 [[NPR]] piece by Morozov asked whether "the publicity gains gained through this greater reliance on new media [are] worth the organizational losses that traditional activist entities are likely to suffer, as ordinary people would begin to turn away from conventional (and proven) forms of activism."<ref>{{cite web|last=Morozov|first=Evgeny|title=Foreign Policy: Brave New World Of Slacktivism|website=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104302141|access-date=November 1, 2011|archive-date=April 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418190944/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104302141|url-status=live}}</ref>

Criticism of slacktivism often involves the idea that internet activities are ineffective, and/or that they prevent or lessen [[political participation]] in real life. However, as many studies on slacktivism relate only to a specific case or campaign, it is difficult to find an exact percentage of slacktivist actions that reach a stated goal. Furthermore, many studies also focus on such activism in democratic or open contexts, whereas the act of publicly liking, RSVPing or adopting an avatar or slogan as one's profile picture can be a defiant act in authoritarian or repressive countries.

Micah White has argued that although slacktivism is typically the easiest route to participation in movements and changes, the novelty of online activism wears off as people begin to realize that their participation created virtually no effect, leading people to lose hope in all forms of activism.<ref name=":7" />

[[Malcolm Gladwell]], in his October 2010 ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'' article, lambasted those who compare social media "revolutions" with actual activism that challenges the status quo ante.<ref name="Gladwell - Small change">{{cite magazine| title = Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted | url = https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/04/small-change-malcolm-gladwell | first = Malcolm | last = Gladwell | work = The New Yorker | date = October 4, 2010| accessdate = May 1, 2024|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110090738/http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all|archivedate=January 10, 2011|url-status=dead|url-access=limited}}</ref> He argued that today's social media campaigns cannot compare with activism that takes place on the ground, using the [[Greensboro sit-ins]] as an example of what real, high-risk activism looks like.<ref name="Gladwell - Small change" /> 

A 2011 study looking at college students found only a small positive correlation between those who engage online in politics on Facebook with those who engage off of it. Those who did engage only did so by posting comments and other low forms of political participation, helping to confirm the slacktivism theoretical model.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Vitak | first1 = J. | last2 = Zube | first2 = P. | last3 = Smock | first3 = A. | last4 = Carr | first4 = C. T. | last5 = Ellison | first5 = N. | last6 = Lampe | first6 = C. | year = 2011 | title = It's Complicated: Facebook Users' Political Participation in the 2008 Election | journal = Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking | volume = 14 | issue = 3| pages = 107–14 | doi=10.1089/cyber.2009.0226| pmid = 20649449 | s2cid = 15543163 }}</ref>

The ''[[New Statesman]]'' has analyzed the outcomes of ten most-shared petitions and listed all of them as unsuccessful.<ref name="Tait">{{cite web | last=Tait | first=Amelia | title=Do online petitions actually work? The numbers reveal the truth | website=New Statesman | url=https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/2017/01/do-online-petitions-actually-work-numbers-reveal-truth | quote=Most of the millions of e-petitions that get signed each year, then, fall on deaf ears and achieve very little. | date=2017-01-30 | access-date=2017-10-19 | archive-date=July 8, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708074553/https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/2017/01/do-online-petitions-actually-work-numbers-reveal-truth | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Brian Dunning (author)|Brian Dunning]], in his 2014 podcast, ''Slacktivism: Raising Awareness'', argues that the internet activities that slacktivism is associated with are a waste of time at their best and at their worst are ways to "steal millions of dollars from armchair activists who are persuaded to donate actual money to what they're told is some useful cause."<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Dunning |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Dunning (author) |date= |title=Slacktivism: Raising Awareness |url=https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4419 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120203857/https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4419 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |access-date=2021-03-11 |website=Skeptoid}}</ref> He says that most slacktivism campaigns are "based on bad information, bad science, and are hoaxes as often as not".<ref name=":5" />

He uses the [[Kony 2012]] campaign as an example of how slacktivism can be used as a way to exploit others. The movie asked viewers to send money to the filmmakers rather than African law enforcement. Four months after the movie was released, [[Invisible Children, Inc|Invisible Children]], the charity who created the film, reported $31.9 million of gross receipts. The money in the end was not used to stop Kony, but rather to make another movie about stopping Kony. Dunning goes as far as to say that raising awareness of Kony was not even useful, as law enforcement groups had been after him for years.

Dunning does state that today, however, slacktivism is generally more benign. He cites [[Change.org]] as an example. The site is full of hundreds of thousands of petitions. A person signing one of these online petitions may feel good about himself, but these petitions are generally not binding nor do they lead to any major change. Dunning suggests that before donating, or even "liking", a cause one should research the issue and the organization to ensure nothing is misattributed, exaggerated, or wrong.<ref name=":5" />

An example of a campaign against slacktivism is the advertisement series "Liking Isn't Helping" created by the international advertisement company Publicis Singapore for a relief organization, Crisis Relief Singapore (CRS). This campaign features images of people struggling or in need, surrounded by many people giving a thumbs up with the caption "Liking isn't helping". Though the campaign lacked critical components that would generate success, it made viewers stop and think about their activism habits and question the effect that slacktivism really has.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Why the "Like" Button May Be Killing Activism|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/supersurvivors/201702/why-the-button-may-be-killing-activism|access-date=2021-03-11|website=Psychology Today|language=en-SG}}</ref>