Civic engagement in a digital age

As we outline in our section on new media literacies, Jenkins’ (2006) view of "participatory cultures" finds that digital and networked technologies can support young people in actively engaging with their social and cultural environment. For example, through blogging, fanfiction writing, and vlogging, young people may critique popular culture and current events. Jenkin’s points to the Harry Potter Alliance, an online group formed by Harry Potter fans, who successfully pressured Warner Brothers to send medical supplies for Haiti after the major 2010 earthquake. At its best, Jenkins finds that a participatory culture provides young people with a gateway to political engagement.

While social media sites and online campaigns have increasingly raised social awareness and charitable action among young people, civic engagement online has also been referred to as slacktivism or clicktivism. In 2012, a controversial online video campaign, “Kony 2012”, was launched by the organization, Invisible Children. The video tells the story of war criminal Joseph Kony and the LRA and urged viewers to join its publicity campaign and spread awareness in support of the indictment of Kony by the end of 2012 The video went viral and resonated well with 13-17 year old Americans who shared the video on social media and purchased Kony 2012 merchandise. The video was widely criticized for containing inaccurate details and failing to fully capture the complexity of the situation in Uganda. Writing for The Atlantic, journalist Max Fisher writes:

“Kony 2012 is so seductive for precisely the same reasons that make it so dangerous. The half-hour video, now viewed 40 million times, sets viewers up for a message so gratifying and fulfilling that it is almost impossible to resist: there is a terrible problem in the world, you are the solution, and all you have to do is pass along this video.”

Today, the Kony 2012 campaign has come to provide an example of online activism, but also a teaching lesson in the meaning of slacktivism.