Back in my facebook days, there were a lot of these 'awareness campaigns' on my wall, people changed profile pictures, posted some wierd messages, etc. After a gazillion of them, I just stopped caring and didn't even ask what another kind of ribbon means.
But that's not the point. The point is, awareness campaigns must have a call to action. Changing profile pictures make people feel comfortable that they 'did something to support' and in the end it doesn't matter. I'm not a US citizen, so it's up to you to decide what to do, but do something useful, not another fun game of replacing profile avatars so people think they're fighting for the cause while doing nothing.
True, I see a lot of these as well, and I don't care much either. This time however, they do have a "call to action", which is to call your representative. Now, I'm not a US-citizen either but from my understanding that's the best you can do as a normal person.
But that's not the point. The point is, awareness campaigns must have a call to action. Changing profile pictures make people feel comfortable that they 'did something to support' and in the end it doesn't matter. I'm not a US citizen, so it's up to you to decide what to do, but do something useful, not another fun game of replacing profile avatars so people think they're fighting for the cause while doing nothing.