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What Trayvon Martin can teach us about social media as an agent of change

The new word I love and hate is Slacktivism.  

Wikipedia explains it as a pejorative formed out of the words slackerand activism, and describes "feel-good" measures, in support of an issue or social cause, that have little or no practical effect other than to make the person doing it feel satisfaction. I say It is undeniably themost addictive, lazy, and non-participatory of modern social justice engagement. See something strolling along your Facebook newsfeed, click ‘Like’ and it’s done. If you really care, you might even click twice and type your name onto an electronic petition or two. 

I love it because, unlike so many obtuse and misplaced attempts at categorizing, it’s just so true. Weird thing is, I hate it for the same reason.

In the last few weeks, due to two major social media/social justice campaigns, I’ve had slacktivism on the brain.  One, Kony 2012, illustrates the ridiculousness of social media as a vehicle of change. The other, Trayvon Martin, is quite the opposite. Kony 2012. If you are unfamiliar,  here’s the video.  

On the surface it seemed ingenious. Within days, the viral video had millions of hits. Yet within days of vetting, and largely due to the ridiculous antics of the video’s producer, it was more of a punch-line than call to action. In the end, it punctuated the absurdity of slacktivism.

This week the tables turn. Initially through social media, we learn about the case of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old black kid who was gunned down in Sanford, Fla. by an overzealous, race-obsessed, wanna-be cop of a neighborhood watch volunteer named George Zimmerman. Unlike the Kony 2012 campaign, awareness about the Martin case was not immediate. At first, there were only a few posts. Soon it spread through the blogosphere with every progressive news website posting the tragic details. Then, it hit the mainstream media’s afternoon circuit. Then, state prosecutors are called in to investigate the case. And then a police chief is forced to step down... And even then, thousands march in Miami, calling for the arrest of Zimmerman.  As of the writing of this post even the President has weighed in on the case.

President says if I had a son he would look like Trayvon. 

It is organic. It is real. And many are not simply clicking “like.” They are trying to affect change in perhaps as fundamental a manner as we have seen, saving the Occupy Wall Street Movement and the Arab Spring, in recent years. 

People often rail about the dangers of social media as it creates superficial connections that attempt to satisfy our natural and real desires for true connections. In the end, we may be more aware of the world around us but we are fundamentally more insulated from it and less affected by it. Slacktivism appears to be a furtherance of that disease where real involvement, engagement and activism is replaced by these effortless clicks that demand so little of us and arguably produce even less in the form of tangible results.

 The Trayvon Martin story is tragic and stands as a very poignant reminder of the dangers many young American men face while simply living their lives. 

Yet it is also somewhat hopeful...

Not only has the outrage to this crime against a black youth been somewhat color-blind, but it also serves as evidence that social media doesn’t have to be superficial, detached and non-participatory. 

As someone said recently, social media is the vehicle not the destination. In this case that was certainly true. Why? Because unlike Kony 2012 where we were asked to just open our wallets and give to some sketch charity, the ad-hoc organization that sprouted up surrounding Trayvon Martin asked us to speak out, carry a sign, make a call, demand justice. Slacktivism is a social media deficit when it comes to affecting change. But perhaps that is a function of the message and messenger and not the vehicle itself.

The key differences:

Objective: In the case of Kony 2012, Jason Russell said he wanted to make Joseph Kony a household name. Well perhaps he accomplished that. The problem is that's all he accomplished. Awareness is not the objective. It’s what happens next that is important. In the case of Martin, an entirely organic and most likely people-driven campaign, awareness was the means to achieving justice. It was clearly followed up by action.

Geography: Joseph Kony's atrocities are many... He’s a bad guy for sure. He’s a Ugandan warlord who uses children as soldiers. But the campaign was quite American-centric. By contrast, the Trayvon Martin case began in Florida and has organically grown from state-to-sate. The first people who reported the event was Martin’s parents and lawyer... The subsequent stories are, for the most part, originating from local and regional news sources. 

Participation/Engagement: With Trayvon Martin, there has been a clear call to action. The people behind the protests have clearly outlined what they want to see happen. They have made contact with the necessary officials and they have called for others to do the same.... 

Kony 2012: How could outing a bad man for doing bad things go so very badly?

When the KONY 2012 thing started showing up on my Facebook page by folks who I know spend very little time on Facebook and aren't quite savvy about the many ways and means that social media can fool you, I ignored it. I ignored it in the same way that I ignore other annoying Facebook apps like Farmville, Truths about you, etc. But the 100th time, I paid attention as it was associated with a group that I am somewhat familiar with and whom I actually respect, Invisible Children, or at least I thought I did.

Before this successful digital marketing campaign, Invisible Children was a reputable charity. Its tactics had only been questioned in fairly scholarly journals. The fact that it has been accused of misrepresenting the facts to get its point across? I had not heard anything. I, like most lazy Americans, showed my support for the organization by clicking a like button then went on about my day.

But the irony here is that the firm responsible for Kony 2012 brought so much visibility to Invisible Children that every skeleton in their closet is now being trotted out in the digital square. And the sad thing is that the message behind the viral video that sparked such interest is getting consumed by the scandal.

Here is the video:


How could outing a very bad man for doing very bad things go very badly?