Be the Change: Face to Face, not Facebook to Facebook, by Kevin Asuncion

On 11.12.09, In be the change series, By Akhila

I don’t know if it is just me, but have you noticed how offline activism has been replaced by its online counterpart?  People add twibbons, change the color of their avatar, or update their statuses, for what? to show their undying support for a cause? I find it sort of counterintutitve that for some reason our generation feels that change happens by lifting a finger instead of lending a hand.  This is what social networks and online platforms has done to activism and social change; it has turned it into a game of perception, not action.  The prevailing perception is that the more twitter followers or Facebook fans a cause has that somehow these numbers magically translate into significant action or change.  More often than not, it doesn’t, and the very people that support a cause virtually are just a piece in the perception game, a trend that is a bit troubling for me.

But as I sit here typing, I can’t but help feel a bit hypocritical.  I personally spend a significant time online advocating for such things as education and social entrepreneurship. I often use social media and online outposts to bring about awareness of the things I care about, and although bringing critical information about causes to bear is an immensely important act, I’m sure most of my followers let my status updates or my blog posts float downstream along with the other clutter they don’t read.  This is the unfortunate fate of young activism today.

So is activism and social change destined to be lost in the lifestreams of our virtual selves?  It’s an unique question our generation must answer.  We must find a way to meld our strong sense of idealism and our need for technology with a sheer anger at the state of the world.  It is imperative our generation understands that real change happens not by getting more followers for our cause, adding a twibbon, or changing the color of our avatar.

As Thomas Friedman, author and Pulitzler Prize winner, once said about youth online activism,”Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy didn’t change the world by asking people to join their Facebook crusades or to download their platforms. Activism can only be uploaded, the old-fashioned way — by young voters speaking truth to power, face to face, in big numbers, on campuses or the Washington Mall.”  I think Friedman hit it right on the head and I hope we all remember; change only happens face to face and not Facebook to Facebook.

*Photo Credit: Obey.com

The Changemaker

Kevin Asuncion is a young social entrepreneur from Los Angeles, CA who believes deeply in the power of business to change the world.  He loves reading, writing and is a loyal fan of the LA Lakers and Cal Bears.  You can find him at his personal blog www.kevinasuncion.com, or follow him on Twitter @kevinasuncion.

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  • aloofar
    Interesting read.

    I share your sentiments on this paradigmatic shift on what activism has turned into, especially in this age where social networking has come to define human communication. It might seem obnoxious to claim that social networks are not ideal tools to employ in pressing for a positive social agenda... at least, based on present realities. I guess they're yet to be exploited beyond the "socialness" that the platforms provide. What I think would happen, I may be wrong though, is that the time will come when users will tap into the inherent opportunities of networking platforms in such a way that the networks will become the new placards of protestations. Let's keep hoping.

    Once again, good read.
  • Very true. I think Twitter, facebook, and blogging can all be very effective in terms of raising awareness and building movements. It is an amazing way to bring people together who care about a specific cause, and then mobilize them to take action. I think the difficult part is getting people to actually take action though. How can we move the change from online to...offline. You mentioned that people will begin "protesting" online. But is that as effective as getting people together to do that in person? I think online tools can be helpful but only when they are supplementing offline action. I don't think online mobilization alone is enough. Look at World AIDS day - it was a great show of support from Twitter, etc. But did concrete action come of it? I'm not sure..
  • aloofar
    We’re expressing the same thing, differently. However, I only mentioned that social networks “will become the new placards of protestations” only if they are used in a more practical way, beyond just clicking the “Join Group” button or adding a ribbon to one’s picture, as in Twitter. I have no idea how that can be achieved.

    I agree that they are amazing ways “to bring people together who care about a specific cause”, but I’m afraid to say that that’s where it ends. Like you said, “the difficult part is getting people to actually take action… ”. I’ll be interested to hear about a successful movement that started online and when on to achieve an offline goal. Well, the last Iranian election serves as a good case study as people tweeted about unscrupulous happenings during the elections that the traditional media may have been barred from reporting. That’s a rare case. Let’s hope for more.

    Shall we agree then that “joining groups” is a first step? Hopefully, it will become a preferred conduit for people to galvanize for a successful offline movement! I’m sure it can happen.
  • I too, hope that this isn't where social media and social networks end! Hopefully ultimately their use will go far beyond learning or attempting to join groups to find likeminded people. Agreed that the Iran protests was a great example of how social media was used to empower people and fill the gaps left from the news media. Another example if you've heard recently was the Moldova "Twitter Revolution" but I don't know if this is going to become common or if these instances are individual occurrences.

    Agreed that joining groups is the first step, and I think that government (Obama campaign for instance basically was rallying youth through social media -- good example of offline movement), non-profits, social enterprises, and even individuals can all take these online groups and turn them into offline change.

    I'm interested also in thinking about fundraising for non-profits, and whether social media translates into either direct funds for NGOs or even a greater number of volunteers/supporters for the organization. There are many types of offline change and it's not just "movements" or revolutions, but could also be things just like voting, donating, volunteering, or taking some sort of offline action.
  • aloofar
    It's nice having this discussion with you. I might be writing an article on it. I'll share it with you if I get to write it.

    Cheers.
  • Of course, I enjoyed it too, so thanks for sharing your thoughts! :) I'd love to see any articles you come up with on the topic so let me know!
  • Kevin, thank you so much again for writing this! It's an amazing post and I really echo a lot of what you're saying here. I agree that we are all becoming more of "slactivists" by just writing about change on our blogs and Twittering about causes we care about...and thinking that's enough. But it really isn't. Like you said the real change happens offline -- where we join nonprofits, volunteer our time with them, and actually fundraise for the causes that need it. A lot of this change can't happen effectively online yet. We have to get out there, talk to people, and be engaged in our everyday lives to actually make a difference. Talking isn't enough, doing is needed.

    But at the same time, all these online tools and technologies can be really powerful ways to amplify the voices of NGOs. Using social media & online tools can be great ways to build movements, and even to fundraise through things like Causes, etc. And a cool organization, the Extraordinaries, are trying to find ways of getting people to do micro-volunteering online. It's a pretty cool concept!

    We shouldn't write off the power of social media to cause social change, since it's still new and there is so much potential here. However what we should be careful about is thinking that blogging, Tweeting, etc is ENOUGH. It's NOT.

    Thank you sooo much for writing this!!
  • No problem it's my pleasure! You're are very right Akhila. I'm a huge proponent of social media playing a part in organizing and catalyzing change, but it's how we use those tools to inspire offline action that's important. You said it right, social media isn't enough, we must make sure we're going beyond the click. Thanks so much for providing me a space to offer up my thoughts and I hope we continue to collaborate in the future to make our world a better place.
  • alaouisarah
    Brilliant.
  • hahaha thank you. I'm humbled.
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