The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: A Blessing with Blemishes

Memes of varying intelligences constantly cycle throughout the internet. It is easy to

 

avoid or ignore the majority of them, but when I found hundreds of videos popping up on my

 

Facebook newsfeed near the end of the summer, I found ignoring them proved more difficult. The

 

content of the videos was even more troubling – idiots pouring freezing water on themselves. The

 

Ice Bucket Challenge was taking the web by storm. What had the internet come to?

 

Early issues were caused by the challenge not being properly explained. People did the

 

challenge without the knowledge that it was tied to ALS, or would not mention it in their videos.

 

Even once this important missing link was restored, skeptics (like myself) asked if the Ice Bucket

 

Challenge was really making a difference. Could pouring water on your head really raise money

 

and awareness?

 

Apparently, it could. The Ice Bucket Challenge has helped to raise millions of dollars

 

(source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/22/business/media/ice­bucket­challenge­donations­for-

als­top­41­million.html?_r=1 ) for ALS. Even celebrities were breaking out both their buckets and

 

wallets. Now, no one can deny the amazing effect that the challenge has had. It is fantastic that all

 

of this money is going to charities in order to research further into the disease. However, it is

 

important to look back at the structure of the challenge and recognize some fundamental issues.

 

For one, the Ice Bucket Challenge only motivates people to donate; it does not educate

 

people about the disease itself. Understanding individuals’ struggles is just as important as taking

 

the time to help them. Most Ice Bucket Challenges also do not specify specific charities to send

 

donations. For this reason, most people looking to donate will just google ‘ALS Charity’ and

 

donate to the first one they see. It is important to note that there are some charities that still support

 

animal testing and stem cell research, both controversial topics that people may take personal issue

 

with. (source: http://www.alsa.org/about­us/ice­bucket­challenge­faq.html ) It is vital to research

 

into what you are donating to and for what your donation will be used.

 

Another issue with the Ice Bucket Challenge is that its impact is short­term. The challenge

 

only asks for a one­time donation. You donate once you and you have done your part; your good

 

deed for the day. It is not geared towards the formation of behavioral changes to encourage further

 

donation. Once the popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge goes down, you can bet that the

 

frequency of donations will also drop.

 

If behavioral changes were enforced, maybe people would be more encouraged to look

 

into other disabilities and charities as well. As the challenge stands, it only helps ALS. The

 

challenge has so much more potential to bring a variety of issues into the spotlight, many of which

 

are in desperate need for donations and affect even more people than ALS, such as Heart Disease.

 

(source: http://www.iflscience.com/health­and­medicine/infographic­shows­differences­between-

diseases­we­donate­and­diseases­kill­us )

 

As I said before, none of this cancels out the fact that the challenge has done a lot of good,

 

but we cannot ignore the bad. Our generation has to eliminate these hit­and­run tactics that we are

 

so found of using, because they generally fall flat in the long­term picture. Any future movements

 

to raise awareness should focus on forming continuous donation behaviors. They should not just

 

raise awareness of the need to donate, but of the functions of the disability itself. This generation

 

can be so powerful when it comes together for movements such as the Ice Bucket Challenge, but if

 

we do not build stamina, we will not win the race.