Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Are you supporting a boycott? Join the club


One out of three Millennials and Gen Xers have boycotted a brand in the past year. (Carufel, 2019)

The New York Times has a section online devoted to boycotts.  In April alone there were seven efforts covered.  Probably more were not.


While there is no doubt that activism is on the rise, I'm wondering if the increase in boycotts isn't more about the fact that all decisions are emotional.  Research shows that we decide emotionally and justify rationally.  It's not nearly as sad as it sounds.  The reason our decisions have to be made using emotions is that there are too many variables involved for them to be strictly rational.  Instead we listen to our guts.

Besides, buying a brand that supports a cause you care about can lift your self-esteem just as much, or perhaps more than buying one that is premium-priced.  So why wouldn't either criteria be equally valid?

Of course it's also true that our decision to join a boycott could be an extension of our desire to be part of the tribe.  While the need to belong has always been part of human nature one of the side effects of social media is that we see the perfect lives that others are living and long to join them.  And when we do, we follow their cues; which social media is only too happy to share with us.

78% of Americans participated in a boycott this year.  Were you one of them?  Why?


Carufel, R. (2019, February 7)  1 in 3 Millennials and Gen Xers have boycotted a brand in the past year.  agilitypr.com.  Retrieved May 1, 2019, from  https://www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/1-in-3-millennials-and-gen-xers-have-boycotted-a-brand-in-the-past-year/

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