Kony 2012

So, I'm sure you've all heard about the Kony 2012 campaign by now? If not, you must be living under a rock.

For all of you that don't know, Joseph Kony is an evil dictator and head of the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) in Uganda, who abducts and enslaves children, forcing them to fight, mame and murder people. 


Jason Russell made a promise to his friend Jacob Acaye (who's brother was killed by the LRA), that he would help fight to stop Kony.


Jason Russell, who is the founder of Invisible Children, made a 30 minute film to help raise awareness of the brutality inflicted by this rebel group.


The video was posted on YouTube and has had over 86 million views.


The short film encourages people to spread the word and raise awareness by sharing the video on social networking sites, which they did. The video soon went viral.


Now videos like this are all well and good, or are they? Sure they raise awareness of issues like this, but do they really accomplish anything?


Sure, 86 million people + are now aware of the LRA and Joseph Kony, but has anything been done to stop him? Probably not.


Videos like this make people want to do their bit and help out, so they share the videos with friends thinking that they are somehow "helping" the situation. 


Once the video has been shared, it is quite often forgotten about shortly after, making people feel like they have done their bit, when in reality, they haven't really done anything.


You can't make the world a better place by sharing videos on the net to help raise awareness while you are in the comfort of your own home, sitting behind a computer screen.


So are videos like these an example of activism, or slacktivism? I think we all know the answer to that one...