PETITIONS are so British. All that anger channelled into something as impotent as a signature on a piece of paper. It will not change a thing, we know, but at least we can claim to have “done our bit”.

But if there’s one thing more pointless than an old-fashioned petition, it’s a Facebook petition. At least the paper versions required a tiny bit of effort. You had to find a Biro. Then you had to find one that worked. Then some poor sap had to deliver it to Downing Street, where an aide would pass on the PM’s thanks for their time (and all that scrap paper for his kids to doodle on.)

But signing a Facebook petition takes less than one second. A single click of the mouse, which seems appropriate. “Squeak!” said the angry mob.

A campaign to save the BBC radio station 6 Music was launched this week via Facebook, and news bulletins breathlessly reported that 18,000 people had signed up. So what?

If they love music so much, why not write a protest song and get it to number one? Organise a march or a flashmob event? Hang an effigy of the Director General from Broadcasting House? Anything but another clicking petition.

So, 6 Music fans, step up to the plate or stop whingeing. Ask yourself: “Am I a man or a mouse-clicker?”