Recently, I watched a video advocating the Kony 2012 Campaign. The video was incredibly filmed and edited and certainly made an effort to appeal to the viewer's emotions. As suggested by those posting the video, I shared it to "spread awareness" and make the evils of Kony known amongst all my friends. Unfortunately, that's where it ended. At the time, all of my Facebook friends were talking about Kony 2012 and how important it was to spread the word. But, the wave of emotion and support suddenly disappeared, replaced by criticism regarding the organization behind the campaign, Invisible Children. The Kony 2012 campaign seems almost infamous now, with people critiquing its goals left and right and suggesting that there are better ways to go about the conflict than what Invisible Children is advocating.
It seems that internet activism often ends with "awareness." Awareness is always touted as imperative for creating change, however, awareness alone accomplishes very little. Sure, more people now know about Kony's horrific acts throughout Africa; however, how many people are actually doing something (or even what Invisible Children suggested) to fix the issue? Several of my friends, including myself, shared the video, but we have done nothing beyond simply being "aware" of the issue. The internet makes it so easy for us to simply click "share" or "like" on a video that we don't find a reason to go beyond those practices. Furthermore, internet activism often fosters support so quickly (videos going "viral") that organizations also very quickly come under the scrutiny of skeptics, as was the case with Kony 2012.
It seems that internet activism often ends with "awareness." Awareness is always touted as imperative for creating change, however, awareness alone accomplishes very little. Sure, more people now know about Kony's horrific acts throughout Africa; however, how many people are actually doing something (or even what Invisible Children suggested) to fix the issue? Several of my friends, including myself, shared the video, but we have done nothing beyond simply being "aware" of the issue. The internet makes it so easy for us to simply click "share" or "like" on a video that we don't find a reason to go beyond those practices. Furthermore, internet activism often fosters support so quickly (videos going "viral") that organizations also very quickly come under the scrutiny of skeptics, as was the case with Kony 2012.
It's an interesting point that internet activism only reaches the point of creating awareness. I agree that viral videos can generate support, but I don't know if watching a video counts as activism.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, simply watching the video shouldn't count as optimism at all. But, the moment people like or share it, many believe they are taking part in a great movement.
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