Understand the importance of couch activism to society

What does the word activism mean to you? When you think of her, what comes to mind? For me, born at the beginning of the penultimate decade of the last century and, therefore, having experienced the process of migration from analogue to digital, this noun immediately promotes in my mind images that are still part of the collective consciousness: occupations/invasions to draw attention to a specific cause; environmentalist boat clashing with a whaling ship; large marches; fiery speeches at conferences around the world; as well as acts of greater radicalism.

However, driven by the strength of social networks and, consequently, by the amount of integration and expansion that the digital apparatus favors, another type of action called “couch activism” emerged, first randomly and today in a very significant way. . The term originates from slacktivism or clicktivism; that is, it refers to a lazy attitude. But actually it is not.

Impact of digital activism

Two years ago, a study published in the prestigious journal Science confirmed the activism force digital and the impact that even the most limited actions generate. Whoever agrees with this analysis is Raphael Rocha Lopes, a lawyer specializing in digital law and a speaker on digital education.

“The means provided by the internet facilitate and enhance couch activism. At the same time that they make it possible to reach any subject from anywhere on the planet, they manage to connect more people who think the same way, sensitize those who are not aware of the cause and encourage other activist manifestations”, he says.

“In other times, I would say that couch activism was a kind of psychological compensation for those who practiced it, something like ‘I want to do something to help, but I don’t feel like going out on the street’, something lazy. Now I see that it is much more than that. It can be an efficient means of achieving goals that would take longer with traditional activism alone. Not to mention how much the risk to physical integrity is reduced in a polarized world like today”, he emphasizes. What can be seen in practice, and the same study proved, is that digital activism and body-to-body activism are not opposite poles, but complementary.

What is your cause?

Writer Eva Andrade, whose spiritual name is Shri Damodara, believes that neither the form of activism nor its proportion matters. The fundamental thing is to arouse the other for good. “They might mention that good is relative. In fact, each one can and should have their own north. The problem is when we don’t have a north. But the tools can be used for the common good.”

At the municipal school he directs in Pindamonhangaba, for example, Damodara was able to implement, in 2022, the project “meatless monday“, following the pedagogical proposal of the unit, punctuated in environmental education. “I told the children the story of the bird that tries to put out the forest fire by carrying water in its beak: no matter how small we are, we can make a difference.”

The writer and director also celebrates the fact that the school, being considered a pilot, has received information from the public authorities that, if the project succeeds, it could be implemented as a public policy in the network and, later, inspire other cities.

Couch activism encourages practical actions

While so many of us ponder the validity of one activism or another, there is a much younger generation that just does what they feel needs to be done. At just 10 years old, Júlia Bonitese is one of these strong contemporary voices. Aware from a very early age of her devotion and need to help the planet, it was during the beginning of the pandemic that her family, inhabiting an apartment in the capital Belo Horizonte, rented a place for six months to live more isolated.

During lunch, after that period, Júlia said that she wanted to do something more emphatically. And her mother, Karina, listened to her and suggested starting something on Instagram. This is how the project “Little Protectors of the Planet” was created, created almost two years ago, and which has already been mentioned by the United Nations Program for the Environment.

booming activism

Júlia started as a sofa activist, both on Instagram and YouTube, with “Papo Natural”, which is a conversation wheel with children. And later expanded to external actions, such as planting, seed firecracker workshops, which she carries out in schools, in addition to being invited to lectures. “Between digital and melee, the first has the function of educating and informing, whether in posts or videos, but the face-to-face can encourage children to put into practice what they received in terms of information.”, he says. For all these reasons, the young activist is a good example of ways of acting without it meaning being an activist affiliated with NGOs.

“Activism is an action of doing something for something, so being affiliated with NGOs, for example, is a consequence of your desire to do more for the planet. When you are associated with an entity, you can have more strength and more people with you. However, if you don’t have any of these relationships, you won’t belittle your activism. Being a local micro-activist, from your own street, is already very relevant. So it can be at home, with family, friends, neighbors, at school, at church. To the small actions change the world. I started making it for my apartment building. The Small Protectors of the Planet started small and today has reached many people”, concludes the activist, whose most immediate dream is to take her ideas to one of the next editions of the United Nations Climate Conference, which brings together several world leaders. We’ll see you there soon.

By Gustavo Ranieri – Vida Simples magazine

He is a journalist and believes that all revolutions and transformative actions are individual, from the inside to the outside.