By Claire-Marie Scott | LTVN Reporter
By now you have probably seen the newest viral trend, The USC Speak Your Mind Ice Bucket Challenge. This cause, created with good intent, has turned into a trend instead of a way to spread awareness.
In the summer of 2014, three men living with ALS started the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Through the simple action of dumping a bucket of water on your head and posting it on social media, they raised $115 million, and over 17 million people participated. Celebrities and influential figures blew up the internet by participating, which is in part what made the movement so successful.
The current resurgence of the ice bucket challenge has a different cause: mental health awareness. According to USA Today, the renewal of the challenge was first posted by students at the University of South Carolina’s Mental Illness Needs Discussion Club on March 31. The purpose was created to normalize discussions about mental health and to donate to resources like Active Minds, which supports voicing conversations about mental illness on college campuses.
While the heart behind the challenge is genuine, and mental health awareness is something that needs to be discussed and normalized, I don’t think the ice bucket challenge has been the best way to approach that.
For instance, back when the trend was picking up traction, along with tagging people in your video, participants were supposed to include a donation link for mental health nonprofits. Now, Instagram is cluttered with participants just posting a video of themselves and tagging people. By not posting any sources or donation links, it defeats the purpose. Donations have been lower, according to The Oklahoman, with over $242,000 raised. Comparing it to the ice bucket challenge of 2014, where over $100 million was raised, this feels like a significant drop.
This trend feels reused. It’s 2025, can we come up with a trend that is more modern and adds something different to our constantly changing feeds? Something about dumping water on yourself on social media feels like it should stay in the past.
If our generation truly wants to spread awareness for mental health, we need to take active steps to aid in efforts and not just post videos of ourselves because our friends are tagging us.
Some ways we can do this are by doing research and staying up to date with mental health resources and information. We can also help spread awareness by posting graphics and statistics on social media. We shouldn’t be making mental health awareness a momentary trend but striving to support and uplift those who are struggling daily.
