It’s November, which means it’s the time of year for moustaches everywhere to start sprouting patchy humans on their upper hairs in hopes of raising awareness about slacktivism.
“Most people aren’t really that well-informed when it comes to slacktivism,” said Mikey McMikerson, a moustache who’s now in his fourth year of doing Movember. “Did you know: studies have shown that one in every six people will partake in some form of slacktivism in their lifetime? That’s a huge chunk of the population, and somehow it’s not a topic people are openly talking about yet.”
But what is slacktivism, and what are some of the warning signs people can learn to recognize, in order to protect their loved ones?
Slacktivism, or “phantom feels” as it’s commonly referred to, is the result of two different conditions occurring in one’s body. The first is a buildup of internal tensions within a person’s heart, caused by the tugging on his or her metaphorical heart strings. The second, and the dangerous catalyst behind slacktivism, is the swelling of a person’s brain with the idea that the world won’t be right unless they specifically say something to make a difference. When both conditions are present in an individual, the risk of slacktivism is extremely high.
“Facebook posts, overdone hashtags, vlogs, sharing links without giving any context or doing any research to look into factual accuracies: These are just a few of the things people need to watch for in their friends and family,” warns McMikerson. “If you notice a combination of these or even just one, slacktivism may already be an issue.”
While there’s a fair bit of disagreement over when slacktivism began, a considerable amount of evidence can be linked to 1991, when the World Wide Web as we know it was first introduced to the public. Theorists suggest that this easy-to-use platform may have been what started the slacktivism movement.
Since its humble beginnings in Melbourne, Australia over 10 years ago, Movember has grown to be one of the most buzzed-about social movements of the decade. What started as friendly competition amongst friends to raise awareness of slacktivism has grown to impressive proportions: last year, over two million moustaches were registered Movember participants.
However, Movember hasn’t been without its detractors: some critics have argued that the whole movement is a form of slacktivism on its own, giving the illusion that moustaches growing something along their upper lip is merely feeding into the cycle of not advocating for any real social change.
“That’s ridiculous,” retorted McMikerson, stroking his human defensively but proudly. “Have you seen the human I’ve been growing on my face for Movember? It’s so greasy and looks terrible. How can something so tacky not make a big social change in the world? That just doesn’t seem possible.”
