I want to change the world, just don’t call me an activist

Posted on 29 Oct 2024

By Greg Thom, journalist, Institute of Community Directors Australia

New research has revealed that while many Australians don’t consider themselves "activists" in the traditional sense, they are increasingly making decisions designed to drive positive change.

Those choices range from choosing to buy brands that engage in social good to signing petitions, embracing recycling, and donating to charity.

A new study by Lonergan Research has revealed:

in the past 12 months, a quarter of Australians have boycotted a brand because of perceived unethical or unsustainable actions
81% of Australians prefer brands that engage in social good
seven out of 10 Australians believe their actions as an individual help to make a difference
two-thirds of Australians believe activists perform a vital role in creating positive change.

“People do care about a lot of different issues.”

Lonergan Research CEO Chris Lonergan.

Chris Lonergan, CEO and founder of Lonergan Research, said that while just three out of 10 Australians consider themselves activists, seven out of 10 are rolling up their sleeves and taking action in their communities.

“People do care about a lot of different issues,” he said.

“The research found that amongst those people that don’t consider themselves activists, there are actually a huge number of people who are actually doing the types of behaviours that activists do.”

These activities range from signing petitions and posting on social media to boycotting unethical brands to volunteering.

“There are millions of Australians that are actually taking concrete actions to actually change the world the way that they want to, yet they are doing this without actually considering themselves to be activists.”

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