Your online protest does nothing

A while back, scores of my Facebook friends changed their profile picture to a cartoon character, saying that this was raising awareness for child violence. This phenomenon was reported on by many in the media as if it were a perfectly reasonable thing to do. It was not.

[caption id="attachment_772" align="alignright" width="300" caption="I could have just "unliked" a page? Now you tell me!"][/caption]

I upset some of my friends by pointing out that changing their profile pictures was an example of "slacktivism," a term which I fervently wish I had coined because it is a perfect way to describe this new trend.

Maybe I'm going to piss people off--maybe I should go back and change the first word of this sentence to "surely"--but this trend of "raising awareness" is becoming increasingly tiresome. For example, I fully support research and treatment for breast cancer. At this point, however, is anyone not aware that breasts are susceptible to cancer?  Haven't we turned over every rock by now and shouted to those slumbering under them, "Excuse me, but I made my Facebook status a sexual joke about where I left my pocketbook that implies that I like to have intercourse in that location."?

Last week, it was brought to my attention that Geoff Fox, the weatherman at the station I grew up watching, was being let go. Yes, you could say that my awareness was raised. What followed, however, shows just how ridiculous people are becoming with these online protests.

One Facebook group that was created to protest the event had many statuses similar to this:

?"Unlike" WTNH beginning at 6:00pm Monday and "re-like", if you so choose on Tuesday beginning at 6:00pm. 24 hour boycott. Will have more impact to do it together over a 24 hour period. This will take a few hours, it will true up at 5:59 on Tuesday. "unlike" is at the bottom, left side of the WTNH page. Thank you.

This does nothing.

Nothing.

Are the executives of companies going to look at their Facebook page and yell, "Holy shit, Bob! Our likes have plummeted! Call the board together, we need an emergency meeting!"

This is the online equivalent of the "gas boycotts," wherein people decide not to buy gas on a Tuesday to "stick it to the man." Think it through. You still buy the same amount of gas, but you buy it on a different day than you would have. It does nothing constructive, but you feel like you stood up for yourself. You voiced your dissent! Sorry, nobody was listening.

Part of the push for slacktivist activities is that they are so easy to do. Shouldn't that tell you something? If you really care about something and want change, you need to show the people in charge that you will, at the very least, inconvenience yourself. Clicking "Like" or "Unlike" on Facebook takes about 3 brain cells and even fewer seconds. That's my point. You are doing nothing. You are putting in the bare minimum of time to "show your support" for something.

Your online protest does nothing. It will change nothing.

Sorry.

(In lieu of outraged comments, please change your facebook profile picture to an image of a panda bear eating a banana. That will show me.)