Kony 2012: Is social media the new solution to social and political problems?

We are seeing a growing trend in not for profit organisations using oversimplified messages and promoting simple solutions to problems in order to get support.  Organisations sell the message that problems can be solved by signing online petitions and sharing and retweeting. Recently, I saw a tweet by the UN which said “we can end new HIV Infections among children by 2015. Here’s 3 things everyone can do”. Despite the good intentions of the UN, it does not provide any in-depth information about why HIV infections are endemic in children. People can help cure the problem by online donations or writing messages on e-cards to raise awareness.  I saw a post on Facebook by Amnesty International that asked people to sign a petition to Shell Oil Company CEO Peter Voser to stop exploiting the Niger Delta. Audiences are encouraged to ‘take it to Facebook’ and Twitter and type this message to Shell “Stop profiting from human rights abuse. Own up and pay up for the devastation in Niger Delta! http://amnestyusa.org/shell”.  With such simple actions, we can surely take part in stopping a global company exploiting local populations but it leaves a lot of unanswered questions about the effectiveness of inactive participation.  Would petitions sway Mr. Voser’s decision? Without active involvement, would we understand the current politics of Nigeria and why companies are not challenged by the Nigerian government when they are exploiting locals?

This is not to say using social media campaigns is totally futile, but I believe it is effective when trying to achieve short term goals. In April this year, a Norwegian woman name Lill Hjoennavaag used Facebook to organise a crowd to gather in Oslo to sing Children on the Rainbow to mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik. The campaign rounded up tens of thousands of people, chanting the song which Brevik detests because he believes the song does not complement his ideologies. 

However, when we try to solve complicated and intricate issues such as political instability, conflicts, human rights, social injustice and endemic health issues, we need to have a greater understanding of what are the root causes of these turmoils. If we have a greater knowledge, we can develop effective strategies to tackle them. 

Promoting simple solutions seems to be the new way to attract supporters. Though they are quick and easy, this undermines the work by activists who are working closely with governments, local organisations and communities.  Encouraging people to take part in these feel good campaigns only engages them for a short while. Furthermore, engaging people with feel good campaigns may not guarantee supporters’ commitment to long term goals because firstly, they do not have enough knowledge of the issue; secondly, they are acting in the heat of the moment; and lastly they are not passionate enough to dedicate their time to get involved in the organisation.

Living in the information age, consumers are inundated with news which prompts organisations to use shock and awe tactics or any means to grab audiences’ attention.  Kony Film 2012 gained enormous support because it was simple and it empowers us that we can make a change.  But after sharing the film on Facebook and retweeting it – is this enough to stop Kony and solve the current problems in the Central African region? Is this the new way of tackling all political and social issues without properly engaging with people who are involved or affected by these issues?  So with one just click and signing petitions – does this really encourage us to understand and pay attention about what is really happening out there?