Journalists sit in front of an illuminated "like" logo from the Facebook Inc. social network website during a news conference.
Facebook rolled out a “donate” button Monday that allows users to put their money where their “Like” is by actually donating directly to nonprofits through the social network.
This is one of Facebook’s best ways of countering the theory of “slacktivism,” the term used for when people ally themselves with a cause on social media but then stop there rather than taking the monetary or volunteering steps necessary to actually exact change. In fact, a study by the University of British Columbia’s Saunder School of Business found that people who are more likely to publicly endorse a platform online are actually less likely to give more meaningful support down the road.
“Sometimes I worry that I will get sick, like my mom got sick,” says the child star in a May UNICEF ad aimed at the slacktivism epidemic. “But I think everything will be alright. Today, UNICEF Sweden has 177000 likes on Facebook.”
Facebook has only linked the “Donate” button to select nonprofits but “will make it available to more organizations soon,” says its blog.