All click, no action? Online action, efficacy perceptions, and prior experience combine to affect future collective action

Social media is increasingly used for social protest, but does internet-enabled action lead to ‘slacktivism’ or promote increased activism? We show that the answer to this question depends on prior level of activism, and on beliefs about the effectiveness of individual contribution to the collective campaign. Internet-enabled action was varied quasi-experimentally, with participants (n = 143) choosing whether or not to share a campaign on social media. Participants were then informed that sharing on social media had a big (high action efficacy) or small (low action efficacy) impact on achieving the campaign's goal. Prior levels of activism were measured before the experiment, and general levels of collective action were measured one week after the experiment. Taking internet-enabled action for one campaign increased future activism for other campaigns – but only in individuals who were already active and who perceived their actions to be an effective contribution to the campaign. •We show online collective action for one cause can facilitate future action for other social issues.•We identify the conditions under which ‘slacktivism’ occurs and when a facilitation effect occurs.•We find that online action can inhibit future action for the same cause.•When perceived as effective, online action aids cross-domain action in those with more experience.