ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

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frobalt said:
tippy2k2 said:
I agree

It's incredibly stupid and seems to be just a silly form of slacktivism (not actually DOING anything but championing a cause on social media to make yourself feel like you did something).

...however, this one actually seems to have worked outside of people dumping ice water on themselves. The amount of money going to ALS groups has shot up dramatically.

According the first website I clicked on [http://www.alsa.org/news/archive/als-ice-bucket-challenge.html], donations last year were in the low one million mark. Donations this summer are in the FOUR million mark.

I'm not sure why this slacktivist activity has actually worked but for whatever reason, this one held on and didn't let go.
The thing about slacktivism is, it raises awareness on issues that people probably wouldn't have been aware about earlier.

More people being aware means that there are more potential donators.

What makes slactivism so powerful is that it is free for the charities in question as they don't have to pay for people to spread things whereas they'd have to pay for adverts and however else they usually raise awareness.
except that it it doesnt mean more donations as a rule. one thing about human psychology is that people feel good about doing something to help and clicking that button to like something gives them that like and tends to stop them actually donating, volunteering or even remembering it a week later, after all they did their part
 

omega 616

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May 1, 2009
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My problem is how is this a challenge? I mean good on all those people who have done it but a challenge is a struggle, this is getting wet. Ever walked home in the rain? More or less done this challenge then. Sit in an ice bath for 1 minute is a challenge.

It's great that an often over looked health problem is getting some funding but it's quite easy to just dunk warm water over yourself, then any sense of "challenge" is totally annihilated. At least with an ice BATH, you can see ice cubes and it's quite a tough thing to do.
 

TheIceQueen

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Sep 15, 2013
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PsychicTaco115 said:
You are quite cynical, to the point of where I roll my eyes at you instead of the people doing the 'challenge.' It's a silly little stunt, but it's raised nearly 12 million dollars. That's over 8 times what they've received in the past. Now, I don't like social media all that much either, but I'm not going to fault a respected charity for taking advantage of a new medium to raise more awareness and money than they've ever raised before. In fact, it's pretty damn smart of them to do so.
 

Strain42

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Do I think it's dumb? Yes, yes I do.

But I can't argue with results.

A guy in a chicken costume singing Cher songs on the streets in Vegas can make more money a day than I would from a 9-5 retail job that I hate. Who am I to argue with progress?
 
Jul 31, 2013
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It's a silly little social media thing that made a lot of money for a good, charitable cause by playing into people's "follow the leader" mentality and general obsession with social media.

I see nothing wrong with that.
 

gmcat

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Aug 18, 2014
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Alright. this thread made me register.

I'll start off with the preface that I lost my mother to ALS this January after two years of continuous care by my father and another year of just getting to watch it spread until we had to do EVERYTHING for her. My father was essentially unable to leave the house during this time, and I spent almost every weekend during those three years at my parent's home helping where I could.

Now then, that aside...

This is not slacktivism. If you participate, you give a donation to the charity and then make a video showing it and challenging the next people down the line. This is not a #feelgoodbutdon'tdoanything campaign. Most of the people doing it are contributing to the solution and are finding a way to further spread the message. What more do you want? Should the people doing this go knocking door to door?

I'm sorry if this came out a little strong, but when people are out actually contributing to something and getting called out on it it bugs me a little. How different is this from say the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life?

Ok, I'll go and put the soapbox away now and go back to lurking.

Have a nice day. :)
 

KissingSunlight

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Jul 3, 2013
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I have more respect for people who do good things like donating to charity without mentioning it than I do people who engage in stunts like the Ice Bucket Challenge. The IBC is just appealing to narcissistic attitude our culture have right now. "Look at me! I'm pouring water over my head. I look silly. Also, I'm doing a good deed. I am such a great person." Arrgh!!! If some people are actually donating money as well as posting these videos, then it's not such a bad thing. Yet, I still have no respect for people who makes a big deal over doing a charitable act or doing the right thing.
 

TheRiddler

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Sep 21, 2013
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Hmm... I won't say that I [i/]dislike[/i] that funding for ALS research is going up. Because despite the stupidity of the public stunt, it's certainly for a good cause and achieving tangible effects (As I understand it, it's sort of a chain letter thing. Either you dunk your head or donate $100. Both, if you'd like.).
 

frobalt

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Jan 2, 2012
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mmiki said:
frobalt said:
The thing about slacktivism is, it raises awareness on issues that people probably wouldn't have been aware about earlier.

More people being aware means that there are more potential donators.
I dunno, I associate "slacktivism" with hashtag campaigns and the like. Maybe the difference is that this is effective and you cannot argue with the results?
I'd be curious as to how much hashtag campaigns help. I mean, let's face it, slacktivism isn't making things worse for charities, as people that wouldn't donate with slacktivism are probably the sort that wouldn't have donated anyway - I doubt there are many people out there who would think 'I was going to send them money, but instead I'll just share this post'.

Don't get me wrong though, I do realise how irritating slacktivism can seem, I just think there is more potential to it than people would realise.
small said:
frobalt said:
tippy2k2 said:
I agree

It's incredibly stupid and seems to be just a silly form of slacktivism (not actually DOING anything but championing a cause on social media to make yourself feel like you did something).

...however, this one actually seems to have worked outside of people dumping ice water on themselves. The amount of money going to ALS groups has shot up dramatically.

According the first website I clicked on [http://www.alsa.org/news/archive/als-ice-bucket-challenge.html], donations last year were in the low one million mark. Donations this summer are in the FOUR million mark.

I'm not sure why this slacktivist activity has actually worked but for whatever reason, this one held on and didn't let go.
The thing about slacktivism is, it raises awareness on issues that people probably wouldn't have been aware about earlier.

More people being aware means that there are more potential donators.

What makes slactivism so powerful is that it is free for the charities in question as they don't have to pay for people to spread things whereas they'd have to pay for adverts and however else they usually raise awareness.
except that it it doesnt mean more donations as a rule. one thing about human psychology is that people feel good about doing something to help and clicking that button to like something gives them that like and tends to stop them actually donating, volunteering or even remembering it a week later, after all they did their part
I didn't say it does mean more donations as a rule - I said it increases awareness. Raising awareness is important and is something a lot of charities do, because to get donations you need people to be aware of you.

Hence why I said it gets more potential donators.
 

Fdzzaigl

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Mar 31, 2010
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Why not, it's a pretty neat campaign and it works. They've managed to come up with something which was likely to go viral and it did.

It doesn't hurt anyone either, so why complain if it raises awareness and increases donations?
 

mmiki

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Mar 1, 2013
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KissingSunlight said:
Yet, I still have no respect for people who makes a big deal over doing a charitable act or doing the right thing.
If you ask me, if more people made a big deal of something good they did and it was considered a legitimate source of personal pride it would make for a better society. Right now 'what you own' and 'how you look' are taking up that spot. We can lament this narcissistic nature of humanity or we can decide to channel it for awesome.

Respecting people who do something good for selfish reasons is a positive reinforcement for them to do more good things against their selfish instincts. I include myself in that group.
 

HardkorSB

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Mar 18, 2010
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Zachary Amaranth said:
All I can say is it's working and nobody appears to be getting hurt.

Given those parameters, I have trouble complaining.
Well then, take a look at this:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=907968122552371
 

HardkorSB

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Mar 18, 2010
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Double post.
Well, as long as it's already here, I just want to say that I've seen a few of these videos because they're constantly popping up on various social media and honestly, I had no idea it was for some charity until this thread said so.
All I've seen were idiots pouring water on themselves and daring others to do it.
No charitable cause was mentioned anywhere.
 

Someone Depressing

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Jan 16, 2011
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It's silly, but it's getting the charity in question a lot of publicity and support.

Also, it has convinced me Lady Gaga is a badass.


Or, she lacks a spine. I'm going with this one.

You could argue that, while that woman getting brain with a bucket full of water was fake and she's fine and well, all the people going into shock afterwards, including multiple cases of cardiac arrest, aren't helping, at all.

It's a pretty mixed bag, but I think a "Don't do this because you'll likely die from cardiac arrest you fucking moron" from the charity itself wouldn't go amiss.
 

Something Amyss

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Dec 3, 2008
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HardkorSB said:
Well then, take a look at this:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=907968122552371
So not only did you repost something that had just been linked to me, you did it twice.

Huh.
 

Robert Marrs

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Mar 26, 2013
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It is really dumb. People dumping water on their heads to avoid donating more money. It still raises money though so I can't complain that much. This is what it takes to get our generation into action. Viral videos and trends.
 

Redlin5_v1legacy

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Aug 5, 2009
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Okay, this redeems it a little to me and at least unlike milking it raises money for something that matters.

Still I wish that
Robert Marrs said:
This is what it takes to get our generation into action. Viral videos and trends.
this wasn't true.
 

EilaliE

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May 29, 2014
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There is no question that the campaign is actually working; it surely has raised both money and awareness.

However, I can't help but feel displeased whenever I watch a video where mentioning ALS was completely "forgotten". It then ends up being the cause of several other videos also not pointing it out (and so on), turning all of this into a "crazy hype" instead. This makes me pretty sure that at least these videos are mostly about self-indulgence and narcissism, showing that there still is a great lack of awareness.