Slacktivism
Etymology
A blend of “slacker” and “activism” coined by Dwight Ozard and Fred Clark around 1995 — originally positive, meaning small personal acts of change. The internet inverted it into a critique of clicking “like” or sharing a hashtag as a substitute for costlier action. The shift tracks the rise of one-tap solidarity.
noun · /SLAK-tih-viz-uhm/
Low-effort digital gestures of support that make the participant feel engaged while changing little.
What it names
The gap between feeling politically active and actually affecting anything.
Example
Changing a profile frame is easy slacktivism; the campaign needed volunteers and donations, not avatars.
Related idea
Slacktivism describes the ineffectual gesture, while virtue signalling stresses the motive of looking good; an act can be one, the other, or both.