Breast Cancer.
What a horrible but relevant topic in our world today.
The American Cancer Society has compiled the statistics and they can be found at Breast Cancer Statistics | How Common Is Breast Cancer?
Thinking outside the box for ways to combat this disease, activists have taken to social media in an attempt to raise both awareness of the issue and engagement with its solution. To tackle such a vast problem, they have had to get creative with their content (see what I did there, content creators?).
In an attempt to spark both the natural curiosity and sexual interest of human beings, these creators employed the massive social media platform that is Facebook.
Over the course of several annual campaigns, held during the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month of October, many women receive private messages asking them to participate in tantalizing memes.
One of the first of these memes asked the participant to give their name followed by a color. So, “Amy, Red” would be the post.
This was supposed to create a bit of confusion, thus drawing interest. The “Red”, of course, was the color of the bra that “Amy” was wearing at the time.
Other memes that have been utilized to sow confusion and help raise awareness included a topic that asked, where do you like to put your purse? “I like it on the floor” or I like it on the couch.”
Hmmm, where does your mind go when seeing these memes?
The question that arises from these efforts is, does it actually fulfill its intended purpose?
While these activities can be fun and certainly provoke an online response, do they then translate into real-life, offline action?
That of course is the million (billion? trillion?) dollar question. How much online cyberactivism truly becomes activism?
An article published on Jezebel.com asks this very question. Found at http://Breast Cancer Awareness Just Gets Sexier Every Day (jezebel.com) it looks into just how effective this practice can be without a direct channel to physically engage with the movement.
In addition to the obvious issues raised by sexualizing the breast cancer awareness movement, another subject that some critics raise is that breast cancer is not only a female problem.
Over 4,000 men a year are diagnosed with this terrible disease and hundreds of them die.
One of the closing statements of the article, “Here’s the thing: we’d find it more palatable if each innuendo went beyond the rather vague ‘awareness’ and included a donation — or at least a link — towards material breast cancer research support” strikes toward the heart of the matter.
Should you or I be able to feel good about our “activism” when all we are doing is tapping “likes” or “share” while sitting on our couch?
The fact that we are even talking about National Breast Cancer Month is a check on the positive side. But I worry that talking isn’t enough.
While statistics kept by the Susan G. Komen Foundation show us that interest and donations rose after these memes went viral, it also goes on to state that they were circulated beginning on the first few days of the awareness month.
The answer to this dilemma is to create offline activism. The question is how can social media do that.
I think that we need to take lessons from some of the greatest activist movements of recent years.
- The Arab Spring
- The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
- #MeToo
- Black Lives Matter
All of these movements saw massive national and even worldwide support. Why?
What lessons can the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Foundation learn from the foundation of these successful campaigns?
To learn more about breast cancer, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, or to donate, you can visit, http://Breast Cancer | Breast Cancer Information & Overview, and http://Donate to Susan G Komen to help fight breast cancer (info-komen.org).
First off,
I enjoyed reading your blog this week, I Like the fact that you wanted to make valid point about the importance of deciding whether focus should be placed on awareness of a sensitive topic like Breast cancer. You mentioned that, “Other ways to use social media to support a cause include” share how your company is taking action, be authentic, Listen to your audience. I’d like to elaborate on that, what made you choose those specific forms of support ? As said by a previous commentator, I say this not to diminish the importance of breast cancer education and awareness, but to highlight the fact that breast cancer research and funding has increased dramatically. This “I like it” business doesn’t give enough information to change much of anything, especially regarding breast exams. And so I think memes like this are incredibly ineffective on the awareness side and that our focus should instead be on practical ways to battle and screen for the disease”. (Shameless 2010)