Click To Give A Crap

By Gerald McGrew on November 7, 2012 in Other

Watching the social media lynch mob digitally marching on 2GB to hang Alan Jones has given us all much pleasure. And it hasn’t even been a guilty pleasure. Mr Jones said something disgraceful, got busted, and Twitter and Facebook lit up. This gave the television, print and radio folk something to report on, which in turn further fed the social media horde that pressured 2GB advertisers to run a mile.

This is not a new phenomenon. Social networks have been giving the average punter a far more effective voice for years, and in most cases it’s been a good thing. Nestle was the first high-profile case, forced to change where it sourced its palm oil. No small thing. Coles, Channels Seven and Nine, Target and Qantas all felt the wrath of the online crowd in 2012. In general, these companies did cock-up one way or another, so the fact that anyone could chime in with a snarky online comment or a ‘Like’ (which is ironic, as they seriously ‘Dislike’ whatever it is they’re railing against) has been positive.

For the company or entity under social attack it’s a no win situation. If they say nothing they’re in trouble – social networks don’t get the concept of a dignified silence. If they do respond it invariably works out for the worst. Trying to win against an angry social media crowd is like fighting someone that’s smarter, bigger, angrier and dumber than you, all at the same time. Recent history has shown that if the company is indeed out of line, they quickly get their shit together after a solid slating on Facebook or Twitter.

So this relatively newfound ability for people to click on a button and get behind issues has got to be a good thing, right? Let me tell you a story…

There was a study where five monkeys were placed in a room with a banana at the top of a set of stairs. If any of the monkeys tried to get to the banana, all were sprayed with cold water. They worked out it was best to leave the banana the hell alone. Then they stopped the water spray and started replacing the monkeys, one at a time. Each new monkey would go for the banana, and the other monkeys would immediately attack it. Eventually none of the original monkeys were present, yet the new monkeys would attack any monkey that tried to climb the stairs – without actually knowing why. They also stayed the f**k away from the stairs, also with no idea why.

I think that we’ll see more of the ‘5th New Monkey Effect’ – people approving an online cause for no reason other than everyone else is doing it, in the same way that we follow fashions. The thing is, flares and K-Pop high heels are usually only dangerous to the wearer, yet a social media backlash can have serious real world implications. And perhaps worse, it can take the public eye off the real issues.

Kony 2012 saw millions of ‘slacktivists and clicktivists’ hit a ‘Like’ button and relax with a latte, feeling good about the difference they’d made in Africa. Surry Hills, Newtown and Bondi had a particularly thick smug that week.

The problem was that Kony had left Uganda in 2006, the same year Facebook launched to the general public. Now there’s some ironic timing!