The legitimisation of clicktivism

ABSTRACT

Is clicking ‘Like’ on Facebook a legitimate form of political participation? Is changing your profile picture or sharing an online article politically meaningful? It is undeniable that such actions can be politically-themed, but whether they amount to what we term ‘political participation’ remains contentious. This article explores the legitimacy of clicktivism as a political act, arguing that legitimacy be understood as multifaceted. To this end, the paper develops a series of lenses by which to explore the theoretical boundaries of these emerging actions. These are: the adherence of the action to tradition avenues; the acceptance of the action, and belief in that action; and, the intentionality of the action, and the context in which it is situated.

在脸书上点击“乐意”算是正式的政治参与么？更换自己的照片或分享一篇在线文章算是一种政治态度么？这类动作无疑可以属于政治话题，但是否达到我们所说的“政治参与”就见仁见智了。点击行动作为政治行为有其合理性，合理性也是多面的。作者提出了一系列考察这类新行动理论边界的视角，包括：这些行动与传统途径的关联；对这些行动的采纳与信任；行动的意图性以及所在语境。

KEYWORDS:

• Political participation
• clicktivism
• online engagement
• slacktivism
• e-activism
• online activism
• legitimacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Max Halupka is an expert on contemporary forms of political participation, where he specialises in the relationship between technology and politics. An IGPA Research Fellow, Max has published work on: political communication, new forms of political participation, internet activism, and The Church of Scientology. Max teaches public policy for the Institute's Graduate Certificate and MPA programmes.

Notes

1 Facebook’s ‘Like’ button, or Twitter’s ‘Retweet’ button for example.