Eventually, everything old is new again. And that includes viral social media trends.
More than 10 years since the trend first dominated our Facebook feeds, the Ice Bucket Challenge has made a comeback – and it’s all the rage with Canadian teens.
This time, the challenge is focused on youth mental health. Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Ice Bucket Challenge?
It’s the summer of 2014, and across Facebook timelines around the world, celebrities, politicians, CEOs and athletes are dumping buckets of ice water over their heads to raise money and awareness for the neurodegenerative disorder ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The trend was originally started by three young men living with ALS: Anthony Senerchia, Pete Frates and Pat Quinn. The rules were straight forward: Post a video of yourself (or another person) pouring a bucket of ice water over your head, then nominate someone else to do it within 24 hours – or donate $100 to the ALS Association.
The challenge quickly went viral, and was enormously successful: it raised more than US$115-million and funded breakthrough research that “accelerated progress toward potential treatments,” according to a report by the group RTI, released last fall.
So, what’s the deal with the revival?
On March 31, the student group MIND, which is based out of the University of South Carolina, posted a video on Instagram reviving the trend to raise money and awareness about youth mental health. MIND was founded by 21-year-old Wade Jefferson, who told NBC he created the club after losing two friends to suicide. In the video, Jefferson encourages participants to post their own videos with the hashtag SpeakYourMind and donate money to the the national US nonprofit Active Minds. As of April 24, the challenge has raised more than US$321,000.
Now the trend is catching on?
Big time. Some celebrities have already taken part, including former NFLers Peyton and Eli Manning, Today show host Jenna Bush Hager and influencers James Charles and Haleyybaylee. But so far it’s mostly caught on with teenagers, who are posting the videos on Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok. (Facebook, the main vehicle the first time around, is obsolete for most Gen Z and Gen Alpha now).
“Once someone is nominated at your school, pretty much everyone does it. It just spreads so fast,” says 13-year-old Lior Pasternak in Toronto, who did the challenge in the backyard with a few friends on Monday.
“It’s all my stories, like every story,” says Beatrice Ballem, a 16-year-old in Toronto, who said she first noticed the videos on Instagram over the weekend. “I have not participated in it yet. But I’ve been nominated, so I’m gonna do a video today.”
Is the message getting through?
Ballem says she knows the trend is about raising awareness for mental health, but is unsure if the minute-long videos she’s seen are really making a difference, since they mostly consist of someone saying “This is for mental health!” before drenching themselves in water.
“I like that it’s trying to make awareness about mental health, but I feel like we should take it to the next step, and if people are open, share their stories with mental health. That way we can make more people aware about it,” says Ballem, who says she’s struggled with depression in the past year and is open about it on her own Instagram account.
Lior says she knew it was for charity, “but most kids at this point we’re just kind of doing it for fun.”
Leia Nolan, a 17-year-old in Toronto, said she also feels like the core message of the trend is being diluted. “I noticed that a lot of people were participating, but that few people were acknowledging what the challenge was about and that it was a fundraiser,” said Nolan over email. “I even saw one person say that they brought the ALS Challenge back because Eric Dane had been diagnosed with it.”
That’s why when Leia participated in the challenge earlier this week, she talked about the reason for the challenge, shared a post made by the student group USCMind, and linked to the Toronto-based mental health hospital, CAMH.
When Leia was deciding who to nominate, she also considered who hadn’t yet been challenged yet because the public nomination process could make some people feel left out.
“Many people’s mental health is interlinked with their relationships and status. Doesn’t the whole nomination system end up excluding individuals who may not have as strong friendships?”
Lior, the 13-year-old, said she was was waiting to get nominated but knew it would happen eventually.
“Like every single day I saw like six kids gets nominated and participate only a few hours later, so I was pretty sure that it would come around,” she said. “But it was kind of a rollercoaster where you’re waiting to get to the top to have your chance.”
At this point, Lior says most kids at her school have done it.
