Everyone has heard about the USC Speak Your Mind Ice Bucket Challenge, whether you’ve seen it, been nominated, or participated in the challenge.
However, it seems that the meaning behind the challenge has been forgotten amidst the fun. Originally, the ice bucket challenge was created to raise awareness for the ALS Foundation, a foundation whose purpose is to spread awareness and raise funds for research towards finding a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Recently, the University of South Carolina’s Mental Illness Needs and Discussion (MIND) Club created a social media campaign inspired by the ALS Foundation’s idea to raise awareness of mental health and funds for its support.
The club has been reposting information about this campaign and sharing videos of people participating in the challenge on its Instagram page. Despite the well-intentioned groups behind these movements, their meaning seems to be lost on much of the younger generation participating.
Many of the people filming and posting the challenge are forgetting to post the link to donate along with their take on the challenge, or not tagging the USC Mind page. While these may seem like small, unimportant details, they are integral parts of spreading awareness, without which the meaning is diminished.
While the challenge is meant to be lighthearted and fun, it is paramount to its success that the connotation is not forgotten in the blur of social media trends. The main flaw with the videos being posted is that people forget to or simply do not post the link to the website to donate to the cause.
Although this may seem like a miniscule or unimportant issue, the lack of action defeats the entire purpose of doing the challenge. Participating is fun and it raises awareness, but without the resources to make a difference being shared, nothing changes and no real difference can be made. The Speak Your Mind Ice Bucket Challenge is supposed to be more than just a fun trend, it’s about supporting and helping those who struggle with their mental well-being. Doing something as small as taking an extra second to add a donation link or tagging the right account (@uscmind on Instagram) can make a world of difference.
