Long-Term Engagement: You Can’t Form Habits Overnight!
For years now, women have been telling us that they feel alone in their beliefs, they feel like talking about politics leads to fights, and they don’t even feel like they matter in America. These feelings often lead them to shy away from civic participation, and we don’t blame them! Folks just want to take care of their family and get through the day without a fight at the dinner table.
We also know that many of these same women are targeted with disinformation that is intended to further divide us. They’re flooded with messages that stir up fear and resentment toward people who aren’t like them, and that makes it even harder to build strong communities. The antidote to this is connecting with women on our shared values and helping them build prosocial habits like informed citizenship, increased understanding of diverse perspectives, community building, and civic engagement.
Nobody can form a new habit overnight, they take time! That’s why our digital community is a form of long-term engagement that gradually builds women up. Galvanize Together offers a customized advice column, facilitated focus group discussions, and interactive quizzes. It provides the neuroscience-rich content that many women need to reliably align their civic actions with their vision for America. It also offers the fun and genuine camaraderie that keeps people coming back day after day. Take a look at how much In Focus participants enjoyed their focus groups with complete strangers!
Now check out what some of these focus group participants had to say about parenting, childcare, and the concept of our waning “village.” As participants talk about their experiences, and thousands more watch along, they’re developing a sense of in-group cohesion, considering the topic at hand with empathy, and learning about other people’s perspectives. It’s certainly more effective (and more fun) than arguing about childcare subsidies and tax policies! We’ve had tens of thousands of write-in responses to this type of content—our audience has a lot to say about childcare in America!
We tested this video in the digital lab just like we do with our issue education messages, and found some preliminary indications that it moved women to agree “Even if I wouldn’t personally benefit, I would be willing to increase taxes if the money goes to federally-funded childcare.”
Similarly, the heart of Galvanize Together is Dear Grace, a customized advice column that speaks to our audience’s interests, experiences, and values while tackling the issues they need help to make sense of. An advice column encourages readers to practice perspective taking: imagining themselves in the shoes of the question asker. Grace isn’t just providing solid advice, she’s helping our audience test out new ideas and make their voices heard in a way that doesn’t feel like conflict. Here’s an example of how Dear Grace has also taken on childcare and caregiving without drowning readers in fiscal policy:
This cultural programming is designed to shift positions and perspectives over time, resulting in an America where more women feel seen, valued, and ready to participate in civic life. Imagine what it will look like when over 100,000 Dear Grace readers are ready to support other moms in their community, organize mutual aid, or demand government action on childcare!
