If you have a Facebook account, you know what the “Ice Bucket Challenge” is. I remember the first time it popped up on my newsfeed. One night, a Boston college alum set up his camera to take a video of himself while he dumped an entire bucket of freezing water on his head. He had mentioned “ALS,” and since I had no idea why he would do such a blatantly ridiculous thing, I Googled it.
With a quick Google search, I found out that ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) is a terrifying neurodegenerative disease that damages nerve cells, destroying the body’s muscular ability to move and function, while leaving brain activity completely intact. Unfortunately, there is no cure.
Peter Frayes, a former Boston College baseball captain, was diagnosed with ALS and jumpstarted the trend, first with his fellow teammates, then BC students and now, the entire nation. While there are multiple variations of the guidelines, you simply dump a bucket of water on your head, mention the cause and nominate others to follow suit in 24 hours or they have to donate.
I still wondered why people had to dump ice water on their heads but didn’t think much of it. I thought it would be like Kony 2012 or those chain letter statuses, causing a big scene yet quickly dissipating with no actual progress. Now, a week later, the philanthropic viral movement is still going and every other Facebook post I see has to do with it. To date, the national ALS Assocation has raised over $2.3 million from the trend, almost 100 times more than their average fundraising in the same timespan.
So, why is this one sticking?
For one, it hits close to home for many, since thousands of people are diagnosed with ALS each year and most only live a few years after diagnosis.
Another reason could be the fact that it is highly unexpected and can occur at any age. The fear of getting it later on in life could push people to donate now.
Or, perhaps we all truly just want to help.
If you log onto Facebook, you’ll scroll through video after video of creative bucket tricks, unique locations, laughter – even celebrities, like Matt Lauer and Martha Stewart. While millions have watched their videos, they didn’t even mention why they were doing it in the first place (though they did apparently donate to other charities afterwards).
I can’t help but wonder if there is another reason after all.
When people get nominated, they typically whine about it yet still post a video or a picture of the stunt the next day. The videos get tons of attention – the more ridiculous, emotional or extreme, the better.
As people quickly mutter “strike out ALS," dump the chilling water on their head and laugh, the video clearly becomes about them – not the cause. That’s because it feels good to get attention, to be mentioned by someone else, to post on Facebook, to receive the positive feedback, to follow the trend. But this shouldn’t just be a trend people want to follow.
It’s not to say every person who participates in the ice bucket challenge is selfish. Some do decide to donate and others do both the ice bucket and donation. The bottom line is the movement has brought millions of dollars and tons of media attention to ALS.
Still, I think it’s vital to the integrity of this cause that this challenge is done properly – educating people and finding the cure for ALS.
Do you even know what ALS stands for?
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