Beyond Slacktivism: Political Participation on Social Media
Beyond Slacktivism examines how routine social media use shapes political participation. Many commentators have argued that activism has been compromised by slacktivism, a pejorative term that refers to supposedly inauthentic, low-threshold forms of engagement online. Dennis argues that this critique has an overly narrow focus. He offers a novel theoretical frameworkthe continuum of participationto help illuminate how and why citizens use social networking sites to consume news, discuss civic matters, and engage in politics. This idea is explored in two interrelated settings. Firstly, in an activist context, through an ethnography of the campaigning organisation 38 Degrees. Secondly, within day-to-day life, by combining evidence of behaviour online with reflective diaries. Drawing on this rich data on individual-level attitudes and behaviours, Dennis challenges slacktivism as a judgement on contemporary political action. Beyond Slacktivism provides an account of how the seemingly mundane everyday use of social media can be beneficial to democracy.
遙ぺ整氈窒 the Speaker
Dr. James Dennis
Dr. James Denniss research interests lie in political communication and journalism, with a particular focus on social media, political participation and citizenship, and how young people experience news. James' work has been published in the Journal of Information Technology and Politics, Journalism Studies, and Political Studies. His first monograph, , was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2018. This builds on his PhD research, for which he was awarded the American Political Science Association Information Technology and Politics Section Best Dissertation Award. James is a Co-Convenor of the and an incoming Editor for Political Studies Review.