Controversial or not, does this type of “cyberactivism”
actually amount to any real change?
Back in 2010, memes and GIFs contributed to a significant amount of the
content posted on social media. For this reason, supporters of the breast
cancer awareness movement hopped on the trend to try and gather support for
breast cancer research and spread awareness of the disease.
The memes prompted users to share “encoded” statuses that
correlated with what color bra they were wearing or where they liked to leave
their purses at home. For example, the statuses would read:
Name, color of bra you are wearing – Ex. “Stacey, pink”
Write the phrase “I like it on the”, and add where you like to keep
your purse in the house – Ex. “I like it on the table”
Undoubtedly these statuses are meant to spark conversation, but the question is, are these “fun” trends leading to any real mobilization for the cause.
Similar cyberactivism campaigns include the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements.
Photo sourced from pewresearch.org
Think about just how easy it is to hit the “like” button, or hit “share” on a post. Once you’ve done that, what’s next? Is your job over? Will you continue to support the group through donations and volunteerism?
This is why I think the memes are not doing breast cancer awareness any justice. I think the issue of this inactive participation has only worsened over the past 13 years. I also feel it diminishes the seriousness of the disease gives people an “out” to feel as though they have done their part. I’ve heard the term “slacktivism“
thrown around and I agree with it.
I have seen too many family members and friends who have been diagnosed with, survived, and also who have passed from cancer. Both my mom and aunt underwent and are still undergoing multiple surgeries due to the disease.
Just to think of a few things off the top of my head that would have been
helpful to them and me as a caretaker would be having someone to grocery shop
for us or take my mom to appointments so that I didn’t have to take off from
work to drive her to an appointment 3 hours away. Though I love helping,
sometimes it is difficult or nearly impossible for me to.
I think we are past the point of needing “breast cancer awareness”
and now to the point where we must start also marketing for advocation and
volunteerism to further support and aid in the diagnosis, treatment, and
survival of breast cancer, especially in underserved and minority communities.
So how do we promote real-life mobilization through social media?
Well, to start, we need to begin by promoting active and inactive
participation. People should not only want to share the advertisement (meme,
video, GIF, etc), but also take their actions a step further by learning how
else they can help.
One way to do this is by making it EASY to move forward to that next step. By capturing and holding the attention of users, they are more motivated to follow through will specific calls to action, such as donating money, signing a petition, or signing up to volunteer. User experience plays a big part in making participation effortless and enjoyable – think fast-loading sites, easy to fill in volunteer applications, or donations portals where you don’t have to create a log in.
Easy peasy.
Still not convinced it makes a difference? Take a look at this Case Study: Making Activism Accessible.
How do I get started?
First, decide what action you want users to take. How will you consider the
campaign a success? Write down these goals and then develop a user-friendly
process that coaxes people along to complete these tasks.
How will you get them to 1) see your ad on social media? 2) click on the ad
to read more? 3) check out the website to access donation and volunteer information?
This should be a quick and fluid process for the user.
Take Greenpeace USA’s website for example. Immediately upon entering the website, a notification pops up asking if you would like to make a donation in honor of Mother’s Day.
With 3 easy steps, as shown in the images below, a user can have donated and also sent an e-Card to their mom for Mother’s Day.
Their volunteer page is also laid out in a clear and user-friendly way, allowing you to get to where you want to be, whether that is learning about the organization, or signing up for one of their volunteer groups.
Remember, actions speak louder than words and memes.
Just a Social Girl 