Clicktivism

Clicktivism can be defined as using social media and other online tools to promote a cause or to achieve political or social goals. The term has acquired pejorative overtones because of its use by those who claim that signing online petitions for causes has become a substitute for on-the-ground activism. Counterarguments propose that online and off-line activism feed off each other and that online dissemination of information and campaigning serves political ends, especially in totalitarian regimes where it is difficult or impossible for activists to protest or even meet face to face. This entry examines clicktivism in relation to the concepts of virtual assembly, political action, and the knowledge commons.