Backyard show, 2021.

Do people just not do stuff anymore? The problems of organizing in a digital post-COVID world.

This weekend I attended a lovely event run by a group of veteran Montréal organizers. The issues on the docket were crucial: housing affordability, climate change, democracy. The room was pretty full too: a solid 50+ people were spending their Saturday discussing the future of Montréal—and how it might become a more citizen-led, just, and habitable city.

I didn’t notice very many young people though. Most of the people who attended were some variety of professional organizer/researcher. Hell, that’s why I was there. In some ways it was a forceful turnout, and in other ways it underscored a thought that I’ve been mulling over in my head this past year:

Do people just not do stuff anymore?

I struck up this conversation with a bunch of the organizers in the room—and they echoed the feeling. It’s just so much harder to get people off of their couch and into a community space.

Even digital campaigns are harder to run than ever. Yeah, we’ve achieved some of our most impressive results in the past 12 months—but asking someone to donate, sign a petition, or take a quiz is quite different than asking them to show up for several hours. Honestly, my eyes glaze over whenever I get invited to a Zoom event. The link between my inbox and my presence has never been weaker.

So, why is this? In the conversations I had, there were a few ideas.

There’s a ton more to this. I’m doing more and more research into it—and, as you can imagine, the complexities are endless and would need at least a book to explain.

But, I am coming away with something:

Maybe the offering needs to change? Maybe we need to build more fun, friendship, and culture into all of this. This year, I got 2000+ people to take a quiz within a month and 200+ people to fill a concert venue to capacity. Why? Because it was fun.

My hunch is: people still want do stuff, they just don’t want to do more work. Why are we expecting people to see work as a fun entry point into the community? I feel like we need to get people to really like spending time with each other first—and then get to the hard stuff.

But, that’s a broad prescription and it’s going to take a lot of trial and error. So, here we go.

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Young person interested in vital ideas. Finding love and laughter in digital, social, and creative spaces. @TristanSurman

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Tristan Surman

Young person interested in vital ideas. Finding love and laughter in digital, social, and creative spaces. @TristanSurman