Positive Online Engagement

Online platforms and social media have meant that debate and political activities can happen in any place at any time of day. Whilst this has many benefits, it can create a culture of presenteeism, where people feel they will only be rewarded or progress in the party if they put in longer hours online or are constantly and quickly responding to posts or news articles online. Presenteeism can be particularly apparent during an election period which is often the most intensive time for parties. There is overwhelming evidence that a long hours, instant response culture can be harmful to your members and your productivity.

Presenteeism can be especially harmful to people from already under represented groups in politics, particularly those who are disabled or have caring roles and acts as disincentive to putting themselves forward for party responsibilities. It also leads to people being undervalued if they don’t post often or respond quickly as this is seen as being less committed to the party.

To promote a positive party culture, it can be helpful to discuss with candidates what their expectations for online activity are before an election campaign. This can also apply to online collaboration spaces such as Slack and private WhatsApp groups. You could also consider enabling them to set boundaries. For instance:

• Candidates might say they only want to post social media themselves during the working week or between certain hours of the day.
• Activists might request that photos of them at events are not posted until they leave a location in order to increase their safety.
• Parties should not automatically expect candidates or activists with prominent party roles to use their personal social media accounts to promote their party role or during an election;
• Encourage a culture of days off from party activities, and provide training in how to turn off notifications.

Parties should consider having structures around candidates and representatives which support them with social media and online engagement, especially during internal selection processes or election campaigns. You might want to consider staff or volunteer support to enable candidates to take breaks from social media. There are positive examples from campaigns where men take on the work of checking for abusive messages, ensuring that women do not need to see them.

Sometimes, there are policy issues which cause a lot of debate and disagreement within a political party. Social media sometimes isn’t the best place to debate complex issues or mediate between groups who have opposing views. If a divisive issue arises in your local party, consider whether meeting in person or via a platform that allows more open debate would be beneficial.

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