A Time And A Place For 'Slacktivism'

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending the annual Do Something meeting here in New York and got a chance to sneak a peek behind the scenes of the hard-working youth activist org (Ypulse exclusive: look for an anti-texting and driving campaign that involves thumb socks). The day doubled as a crash course in the trends and challenges facing the social change space today, including the very timely topic of “slacktivism.”

Slacktivism, for those unfamiliar, is the portmanteau coined to describe taking action for social change without putting in much effort beyond a click of a mouse or the sending of a text. The not-so-subtle implication here being that mobile and social networking technology has supplied a generation of lazy and/or apathetic Y’ers with all the tools to talk the talk of supporting a cause without walking the walk IRL. It’s a charge we’d usually counter with recent Ypulse Research around increased awareness and education, examples of offline efforts powered by youth .orgs like Do Something or Ashoka, and the question of  whether brands are enabling the trend by opting for the pro-social shortcut themselves. But in light of the situation in Haiti and the unprecedented show of support generated over these past few weeks through those slacktivist tools of texting and clicking, it seems like this might be a better opportunity to point out that there are times when less can be more.

With a crisis of this magnitude and a nation as impoverished as Haiti, this obviously counts as one of those times and Gen Y (along with the rest of the U.S. population) has heeded the call to action. As of Saturday, “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,” the MTV-sponsored telethon (pictured here) aired online and across multiple networks raised more than $58 million through phone, web and text—setting a new record for donations made by the general public through a disaster-relief telethon. Before the special aired, the Red Cross was already reporting more than $20 million in mobile donations raised by prompting folks to simply text the work “Haiti” to 90999. It’s a breakthrough in mobile fundraising, especially as a strategy tailored to young people fluent in texting, and a testament to the compassionate response an energized Gen Y can work up. It also seems like a teachable moment for pro-social brands and/or non-profits that are hoping to generate any sort of mass action whether it be fundraising or otherwise from young people through text messaging or social media.

Of course, the model can’t begin and end at “click for change” or “text for change.”  But with a cause that resonates and enough facts to illustrate the issue at hand and the impact of a contribution, these low barriers of entry are a powerful start to empowering young people to take the next step— whether that mean staying well-informed or taking action on the ground.

For more coverage of youth marketing, go to the Ypulse Youth Marketing Channel sponsored by Youth Marketing Connection.