Do Symbolic Gestures Make a Difference?
Whether you think it's the symbol of world peace or a corrupt thugocracy, when a major world organization like the United Nations shows up in Second Life, people take notice. Second Life Insider reports that on October 15-16, Second Life residents will be able to participate in the United Nations Millennium Campaign to Stand Up against poverty.The Millennium Campaign was launched to hold the countries of the world accountable to their commitments to the eight goals that would eradicate extreme poverty by 2015:
Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty
Achieve Universal Primary Education
Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Reduce Child Mortality
Improve Maternal Health
Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Develop a Global Partnership for Development
With the Stand Up campaign, they are trying to set an official Guinness World Record for "the greatest number of people ever to Stand Up Against Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals" (I didn't realize there was a category for that! Seems like any number would set that record.). To that end, they are asking people around the world to participate -- including virtually in Second Life. SL residents can obtain a free white wrist band for their avatar and click it at the appropriate time to assume the "stand up" pose and be registered as a participant in the event.This article sparked an interesting discussion in the comments section, with Prokovy Neva starting it off:
Tomas Hausdorff countered:
Aimee Weber, who built the campaign in SL noted:
Prokofy then got to the heart of what has been bothering me about this campaign from a social marketing perspective:
Symbolic gestures can be powerful in bringing about political or social change. Think of Rosa Parks sitting on the bus, the lone Chinese protester facing down the tank in Tiananmen Square, even the thousands of citizens who miss work and spend money to travel to the National Mall for various demonstrations each year. These gestures are so powerful both for what they represent and because the participants have something significant at stake -- whether it's their safety or life, or the time and money they give to show their identification with the cause.And other symbolic protests or awareness-building events on a smaller scale can also be effective by increase an individual's empathy for -- and personal stake in -- the issue. Tomorrow's DarfurFast, in which individuals will be fasting in solidarity with the people of Darfur; numerous walkathons and runs that require a physical commitment as well as collecting donations; even Hands Across America, which seems a similar concept to the Stand Up campaign, but which collected money that was donated to local homeless and anti-hunger agencies -- all of these events are designed to raise awareness but also have a call to action associated with them. Whether it is donating money or writing to your local Congressman, these are actions that could make a difference in the issue.My concern with the Stand Up campaign and other initiatives that have no accompanying action beyond standing up or clicking on a virtual bracelet is that they don't go anywhere. Awareness is absolutely the first step in getting someone to become involved in an issue. But a campaign cannot stop there. Awareness then needs to lead to some sort of action, otherwise you are wasting your time. If the Stand Up campaign encouraged people to do things like sending an e-mail to their country's policymakers to demand that they take action to reach the Millennium Goals, writing letters to the editor of their local newspapers, volunteering in their community's food bank to do their part to alleviate poverty -- these would be a good use of the awareness and good will the campaign generates.But a symbolic gesture that requires little or no actual commitment or risk from the person doing it is an empty gesture. It feels good at the time, but then they feel they've done their bit and quickly forget about the issue.Just as knowledge is necessary but not sufficient to bring about behavior change, awareness is necessary but not sufficient to bring about social or political change.
Technorati Tags: second life, UN, marketing, social marketing