Evgeny Morozov writes in “The brave new world of slacktivism” what are the risks of online activism. He states that internet activism can lead to “Slacktivism”, which is a term used to define “feel-good” online activism that has zero social or political impact. Morozov talks about slactivism from a critical perspective, as he states that by doing so, the participants allude that they are actually doing something to achieve some sort of change. Protests now days are not like the ones from the past. Instead of organizing sit-ins or have unpleasant confrontations with the police, today the action is taken online. Sardine is present online, especially now that they cannot gather in the Italian squares.
Sardine fight for what they believe should be a right for the people. They mostly fight for immigrants’ rights, they support the European Union and believe in equality. In the situation that we are living today due to COVID-19, they cannot show their presence in the squares, therefore they are very active online. A few days ago they launched a petition to support the Italian health workers. They ask the President of the Italian Republic Mattarella and the Minister of Public health to give recognition to those who risk their lives to save the citizens from the virus.
Translated: “Our heroes, our pride: gold medal to the merit of public health care”
The petition has not collected many signatures, but those who signed had a feeling of satisfaction because they believe they were doing something to bring some change. In the description of the petition, the creator wrote that health care workers should be awarded a gold medal because their services were cut by previous governments, therefore they need to be given some recognition. This is not really a protest, but it gives people a sense of illusory gratitude for standing up for health care workers.
Why aren’t those who signed the petition going outside of hospitals to fight for this recognition? They can’t do that because right now it is against the law. If they do not have the opportunity to gather in front of hospitals and ask for recognition, would they still be considered as “Slacktivists“? According to Morozov, they would. I believe that Morozov’s analysis is missing this aspect. He should keep in mind that in some situations it is physically impossible to gather and protest, therefore the only way to ask for change is by doing so online.
Sardine 