armchair activist/activism; digital activist/activism
armchair activist: sostantivo numerabile
armchair activism: sostantivo non numerabile
digital activist: sostantivo numerabile
digital activism: sostantivo non numerabile
Another option for armchair activists is KarmaBanque, the index site for the smart boycotter that helps people voice their concerns about companies by voting with their wallets.
Don’t knock armchair activism – it’s an important part of our work.
Melanie Gorka is a digital activist, designer and technologist using new media to foster change.
The debate about the nature and efficacy of digital activism has become increasingly heated.
The Armchair Activist’s Handbook è il titolo del libro di Ruth Stokes pubblicato nel 2013 in cui l’autrice propone una terza via per l’impegno sociale nell’era digitale, a metà strada tra l’aderire con un clic a una causa che ci sta a cuore e lo scendere in piazza per manifestare mettendoci la faccia. Ruth Stokes voleva sì cambiare il mondo ma senza scovolgere la sua vita in modo radicale, consacrando tempo e risorse alla lotta. Usando il termine armchair activist nel titolo del suo libro, invece di un più neutro ma meno orecchiabile digital activist, la Stokes ha reso il concetto più accessible e alla mano. Dopotutto, qualcosa che possiamo fare seduti in poltrona non può essere troppo impegnativo, no? Lo può fare chiunque…
Origini del termine
Armchair activist e armchair activism sono composti formati sulla falsariga di termini come armchair general o armchair critic, usati per riferirsi a qualcuno che si dice esperto in qualcosa ma che manca di esperienza pratica in materia. Questa derivazione dovrebbe conferire una connotazione negativa ad armchair activist e armchair activism rispetto ai più neutri digital activist e digital activism, per quanto sempre meno negativa dei termini alternativi clicktivist e slacktivist. Eppura la curiosa contrapposizione di due parole così contrastanti come armchair e activist (insieme al rassicurante handbook) cancella qualunque sfumatura negativa associata al termine.
armchair activist: countable noun
armchair activism: uncountable noun
digital activist: countable noun
digital activism: uncountable noun
Another option for armchair activists is KarmaBanque, the index site for the smart boycotter that helps people voice their concerns about companies by voting with their wallets.
Don’t knock armchair activism – it’s an important part of our work.
Melanie Gorka is a digital activist, designer and technologist using new media to foster change.
The debate about the nature and efficacy of digital activism has become increasingly heated.
The Armchair Activist’s Handbook is the title of a 2013 book by Ruth Stokes which posits a third option for engagement in the digital age between just clicking on links and all-out take-to-the-streets activism. The author wanted to make a difference but didn’t want to devote her whole life to causes she believed in, so she found ways of being an activist that didn’t involve turning your whole life upside down. In choosing to use the term armchair activist in her title, rather than the more neutral but less catchy digital activist, she made the concept unintimidating and user-friendly. After all, something that can be done from an armchair can’t be too demanding, can it? Anyone can do it.
Origin
Armchair activist and armchair activism are compounds formed along the same lines as terms like armchair general or armchair critic, used to refer to someone who claims to be an expert on something, but lacks any practical experience. This derivation should give them a rather more negative connotation than the terms digital activist and digital activism, although far less negative than the alternative terms clicktivist and slacktivist. But somehow the incongruous juxtaposition of two such contrasting terms as armchair and activist (along with the eminently practical handbook) serves to remove any negative connotations the term might have had.
