From slacktivism to activism: Improving the commitment power of e-pledges for prosocial causes

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231314
• Publication Date: 2020-04-29T17:41:23Z
• Authors: Eileen Y. Chou; Dennis Y. Hsu; Eileen Hernon
• Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Pledge; Mindset; Outreach; Bandwagon effect

Prosocial organizations increasingly rely on e-pledges to promote their causes and secure commitment. Yet effectiveness is controversial. Epitomized by UNICEF's "Likes Don't Save Lives" campaign, the threat of slacktivism has led some forsake social media as a potential platform for garnering We proposed investigated novel e-pledging method that may enable capitalize benefits without compromising its mass outreach potential. In two pilot studies, we first explored whether why conventional not be effective intended. Building those insights, conducted one field lab experiments test our e-pledge intervention. Importantly, study demonstrated intervention commitment behavior across 3-month period. The laboratory provided deeper more refined mechanism understanding effect ruled out effort, novelty, interaction mindset alternative explanations effective. As technological innovations continue redefine how people interact with world, this research sheds light promising transforming simple virtual acknowledgment into commitment—and, ideally, action.