A recent column in The Post by Olga Kharitonova offered a curious insight into the psyche of our generation. Her article focused in on the disconnect between one's online persona and their behavior in real life. This phenomenon has been debated, discussed and examined to a fine pulp by others, but does it have a proper name? How should one label the quick reaction to accept an online group petition weighed against reluctance to speak to local union members who are literally fighting for their livelihood? What does one deem the emotionless struggle for most popular internet cause when not 10 minutes beyond this town's borders AMERICAN people yearn for help as they cannot feed themselves? There exists only one expression for a gesture so hollow and half-hearted. SLACKTIVISM. Oh yes, slacktivism lives well today.
Understanding slacktivism requires understanding the premise of online social networking. Social networks make communicating with a wide group of friends and strangers much easier, but the technology serves another unforeseen function. As important as any aspect of online networking, the careful crafting of a self-image stands as the seed from which all other activities spring. Consider the point. The online networks proffer myriad routes to develop the new e-you
and the wonderful part lies in the fact that e-you may not remotely resemble the real you. Rather the online persona accentuates certain aspects of your life you find desirable and attractive to the general web population. This occurrence relates directly to the proliferation of such frivolous online crusades. It may be true that you care about the cause, but consciously or not, you know joining requires no strenuous commitment and improves your image as a responsible community member.
Facebook is hogwash, and it has cut our generation with a double-edged sword, the first blade laziness and the other detachment. The combination of the two has stagnated an entire American generation, but there is hope. Across the history of man, a multitude of heroic and courageous feats have been made in the name of progress. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's words ring true today in the present storm enveloping America, The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. The passive behavior characteristic of the Internet must be abandoned if we are too overcome it. We must first overcome our own digital barriers and then act with the fortitude and gumption possessed by those before us.
I propose this: Delete your online identity for one week, pull yourself out of the matrix, have a conversation with some people, listen to their worries, reach for your own, commit some thought to others, and maybe even volunteer. These steps are simple, easy and necessary for us to destroy slacktivism.
Davis McCoy Chambers is a junior studying media management. 4
Opinion
