Clicktivism

As I lay on my bed and scroll through Instagram, I see an adorable chubby grey squirrel photo and one of a robin balancing on the branch of an evergreen. Double tap once, double tap twice; I show my love for those photos. Switching to Facebook, I see pictures of my friends hiking a trail... I “like” it. Looking outside I see a sunset and I take a photo, my eyes not leaving my phone as I edit it to post.

Humans now spend up to nine hours a day on social platforms (Asano, 2017), longer than the time that we spend eating, drinking, socializing and grooming. Unfortunately people only spend an hour and thirty minutes outdoors, which does not necessarily even mean in nature (Diffey, 2011). This means that most of the interaction we get with animals and nature comes through clicking on pictures. “Studies show that people value their natural heritage more if they get a stake in it as children” (Sharp, 2014). Unfortunately, the conclusion of these studies when looked at together is people are not valuing nature and outdoor environments because of the increased time spent on the internet.

People still are connected to the environment through media, and enjoy spending time looking at pictures of nature on their phones. This leads to fetishization of natural environments. “Experts widely agree that many of today's children are so hooked on television, computers and video games that they’ve lost touch with the natural world” (Sharp, 2014). This leads to an unrealistic expectation of nature and animals in the environment. It also leads to the idea that nature is endless and expendable.

Clicktivism is when people see something online and they click to create change. For example, liking an Instagram photo or reading and sharing an article about a subject like environmentalism. This can be amazing once in a while, like for organizing protests through the internet. On the other hand, there is an urge to share an article and call it quits, "oh, I did enough, I shared that one article." Sharing articles creates awareness to your small group of (most of the time) like minded friends. Because of algorithms, your dashboard will get filled with articles similar to the ones you like and post, therefore creating an idea that more is being done than it actually is, and then there's more pressure that you don't have to do anything.

Works Cited:

Asano, Even. "How Much Time Do People Spend on Social Media? [Infographic]." Social Media Today. SocialMediaToday, 4 Jan. 2017. Web. 15 Apr. 2017. <http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic>.

Diffey, B. L. "An Overview Analysis of the Time People Spend Outdoors." The British Journal of Dermatology. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Apr. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2017. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21128911>.

Sharp, Eric. "Reaching Nature Through Social Media." National Wildlife Federation. National Wildlife, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 15 Apr. 2017. <https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2014/Wildlife-and-Social-Media.aspx>.