Slacktivism

Slacktivism is a portmanteau of the words slacker and activism. I first stumbled upon this term while indulging in my weekly fix of Lucy Mangan's article in Stylish Magazine. Slacktivism describes inactive means of showing support to a prominent issue or social cause, without any actual/practical sacrifice being made, and its effect is  to make the person doing it feel good from publicly expressing their contribution. I read about it months ago, but it's been nearly impossible to log on to social media of late without watching feed-loads of videos of people dumping ice water over their heads, or vice versa. And I had no issue with it, until I woke up on sunday morning to a swarm of #IceBucketChallenge videos that:
1) Did not refer to, or show an understanding of, ALS;
2) Did not have ice in the buckets;
3) Blabbed on about substituting donations for 'good deeds';
4) Thanked those who nominated them.

Scarf & Buba : Ogba Market, Lagos | Shirt : Dorothy Perkins

...that I decided to draft this post. It just seems to me that the participants had little or no knowledge of what the ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) acronym stood for, and thus, chose other charities in its place. Instead of taking the time to research, they chose to invest time, effort and money filling their bucket with the right tools, rather than their minds, and that saddens me. 

'End Sexual Violence in Conflict' Summit, created by William Hague & Angeline Jolie

Adding a caption to the collage, encouraging others to lend their voice

This campaign, among many others (remember the #NoMakeupSelfie to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer?), creates this notion that fundraising is a fad. Because, lets be real, no one is taking #NoMakeupSelfies anymore, and thats because its far trendier to tip a bucket over your head...hence why people are glad to be nominated. Its like a rite of passage, that someone thought you cool enough to nominate you...but I find it thoughtless, that it has become more about the individuals named in the videos than the cause behind it; some don't even donate! When the #IceBucketChallenge started, the person who was challenged had 24 hours to complete, record & post it up, otherwise they had to donate $100. However, not everyone is raking in enough paper to afford that amount, and once it went viral, the $100 donation was a myth. We've become increasingly obsessed with people's perceptions of our lives, so we choose to only showcase the good and glam aspect through countless over-filtered inane selfies. People have now turned the #IceBucketChallenge to a means of showcasing their summer bodies, tagging only their circle of friends, or using it to feel a part of something bigger than themselves. None of which is altruistic in the least.

Watch : Michael Kors | Bag : Moschino | Sandals : Enugu Market

That being said, over $15million has been raised from the campaign, but what I fear is that this revenue is unsustainable. Having worked in the philanthropic industry for a number of years, its interesting to observe the different means that have been incorporated to raise funds; telephone harassment fundraising, races, face-to-face street attacks fundraising, tear-jerking videos depicting the stereotypical malnourished child living in an impoverished nation in need of just £1 a month, etc... so perhaps, this is just another means to an end that will pass over time. Whatever it is, slacktivism rubs me up the wrong way, and I wish they would engage other means to raise money.

Altruism requires selfless acts for greater good, and slacktivism contradicts that. BLEURGH!!