When you hear the term digital culture many people might associate it with Instagram, TikTok, or some form of social media and its surrounding community. There are so many online communities now that not every online trend gets as much popularity as some did in the past. Trends like the Dress debate, Yanny vs. Laurel, or even the egg post from Instagram were widespread across so many communities that it was very likely for a person to know at least one of them. One moment of digital culture that sticks out to me is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, a 2014 trend meant to raise money and awareness for ALS by people dumping ice water on their heads. This challenge sticks out to me because it is one of the first instances I can remember when a social media trend was used to create a community that reached everyone from kids to adults to a number of celebrities as well.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (IBC) is recognized as “the world’s largest global social media phenomenon.” Started by three men suffering from ALS, the challenge raised over $115 million with more than 17 million people participating across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Vine. Its impact still lasts today as research funding, disease knowledge, and care options for ALS have increased dramatically since 2014. In fact, in 2016 researchers discovered a new gene that is linked to the cause of ALS.
This challenge is a good representation of digital culture to me not just because of its impact but because it was one of my first introductions to online communities and trends. I was 12 when the challenge happened and had only had Instagram for a few months so everything was still very new new to me. It was fascinating to see how I could be a part of something that included my friends as well as big-name celebrities like Britney Spears, Daniel Radcliffe, and Kermit the Frog (as shown below).
I also believe it’s a good example of how digital culture can bring people together rather than divide them. Many online trends involve people taking sides: Yanny vs. Laurel, is the Dress blue and black or white and gold? But with the ALS Challenge, there were no sides, no debate, just people coming together to support a good cause and share it with their friends.
This is digital culture in its simplest form and yet is the most well-known and impactful trend of the past 10 years. It’s a culture that changes every day but one that has proven it can be useful even in the most unexpected of ways.
Citations
ALS Association. “Ice Bucket Challenge Dramatically Accelerated the Fight against Als.” The ALS Association, 4 June 2019, www.als.org/stories-news/ice-bucket-challenge-dramatically-accelerated-fight-against-als.
Howard B. Levy, CPA. “Redeeming Value of Social Media: How the Ice Bucket Challenge Invigorated the ALS Association.” The CPA Journal, 29 Aug. 2017, www.cpajournal.com/2017/08/16/redeeming-value-social-media-ice-bucket-challenge-invigorated-als-association/.
“Kermit the Frog Takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge | the Muppets.” YouTube, YouTube, 20 Aug. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmax3yEZX58&t=69s.
I totally forgot about the Ice Bucket challenge, until I read the title of this Substack post. It is amazing how only 3 people could inspire the whole world to do this. I in fact also did this challenge with my friends and family, even many celebrities started doing this challenge such as LeBron James, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jimmy Fallon, and many more. It became so popular that even football teams also started doing the trend. This challenge impacted digital culture too much, there was even a point that everyone was talking about it, and as Shae wrote, this was the "world's largest global social media phenomenon". It brought many people together, and it is simply amazing.
The ice bucket challenge was not only about throwing cold water on your head, but it was also for a good cause, to raise money for Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS); millions of dollars were raised in order to battle this progressive muscle weakness disease. This challenge was in fact one of the greatest and largest digital culture movements in the history of the internet.
If I was asked about this digital Trend years ago closer to its peak of popularity I might've remembered that it was for cancer funding however at least before reading this I thought it was simply the ice bucket challenge that people did for attention. You bring up a really good point that I like is that in in almost every digital Trend or challenge there's two sides to the trend and it certainly isn't helpful for the division the USA faces all the time as it makes people think about there differences and not there similarities. The ALS ice bucket challenge is one of the few things online that I can think of that brings people together the other one that comes to mind as you mentioned it in the start of your post is the world record egg as people had to come together to all like a single instagram post however I am sure there were some who thought it was pointless. I think the challenge really captures how big digital trends can become and how they can sometimes be a real benefit to society.