14 DAY TRIAL // The Internet will never cease to amaze us. Ever since its creation, it has evolved so much, while us, its creators, seem to have devolved, or at least seem to have dumbed down over the years. That's because we now use the Internet for trivial things and few of us actually tap its true potential on a daily basis. Case and point: the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
It's damn near impossible to go online anywhere these days and not see the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in some way, shape or form. Whether it's photos, videos or articles, everyone is getting into the movement.
At its core, this viral phenomenon is based on a noble principle, except, like most noble principles in our world, it somehow got perverted to a shallow and meaningless gesture that does little else than amuse you and your close friends for a brief second.
The concept is simple. The ALS is an acronym for Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as Amyothrophic Lateral Sclerosis, one of the ugliest diseases in existence. There is currently no cure for this illness and people suffering from it see their bodies gradually deteriorate until their simply wither and die.
The Ice Bucket Challenge was created when former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates was diagnosed with ALS. He was only 29 and he promised to fight the disease. A couple of his friends started to raise awareness by creating the Ice Bucket Challenge, which basically dared you to donate money to the cause or pour a bucket of ice-cold water on your head, or both.
The phenomenon, though a few years old, only started to pick up Steam this year. It was enough for one of two celebrities to get nominated, and then it became a world phenomenon. Now your social media feeds are filled with videos of everyone taking part.
Though it's for a good cause, and it has indeed raised awareness for ALS, as well as money coming in for research in the form of donations, the Ice Bucket Challenge is inherently a bad thing. Especially when it comes to celebrities.
Actors, singers, athletes and reality TV stars are all now taking advantage of this “dare,” that is in many ways just a fad like the “cinnamon dare” was or like “planking.” The success of this challenge is related to the fact that it's very easy to perform and it acts like a chain-letter, spreading from one person to the next, as everyone nominates at least one more person to try on the dare.
Because it's made public in videos on the internet, it's easy for most to get carried away. It's fun and it's for a good cause, and it's also a good way to look cool in front of your friends. So who in their right minds would say no to that? Certainly not celebrities.
Most of them have used this fad as a means of improving their personal image. In fact, today it's hard to find a celebrity who hasn't yet dumped a bucket of water on their head. From Oprah to Jimmy Fallon, Lady Gaga to LeBron, to Justin Timberlake and Bieber, everyone has done it.
Other celebrities are trying to improve on the challenge, simply because they want to stand out. And all of this because they want to improve on their image. Sure, some of them are actually donating the money as well, as Charlie Sheen did, who decided to drop a bucket of money over his head instead of water, but that's also for their personal gain, since being seen as a philanthropist has never really hurt anyone.
People need to learn to separate bad marketing from good marketing. The internet is good at creating these viral movements (remember the Harlem Shake?), but it's up to you if you get sucked up in this sort of things.
After all, dropping a bucket of ice-cold water on top of your head basically means that you weren't willing to donate some money to the charity. Also, someone needs to address the issue that this Ice Bucket Challenge came right smack down in the middle of one of the worst droughts in American history.
The bottom line is that if any of these celebrities wanted to donate, they could have simply sent a check in the mail, but it was better for their image to be seen dumping water on themselves, all in good fun, thus landing their name in the news.