It’s been a little over two years since the “Ice Bucket Challenge” (IBC) set social media ablaze, raising several million dollars to fund research for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Over 1.2 million videos were produced, as participants challenged their friends to complete the feat within 24 hours or donate 100 dollars to ALS research.
As the challenge gained traction, it began to receive support from celebrities, professional athletes and politicians. Despite its massive popularity and the importance of the cause, the cynical side of me never understood the connection between dumping a bucket of ice water on your head and finding a cure for a disease that affects 30,000 Americans. After all trendy challenges seem to fill social media newsfeeds in an endless barrage leaving a connotation of altruism to the posts rather than awareness.
However, as of Wednesday those countless posts, donations, and shares paid off. It seems my cynicism was completely misplaced. Through funds raised by the IBC, the ALS association was able to fund research that has now identified the gene responsible for ALS. Doctors from Massachusetts Medical School and Emory University discovered the gene now known as NEK1, allowing better methods of prevention and diagnosis to be developed. They credit their discovery to the success of challenge.
“The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge enabled us to secure funding from new sources in new parts of the world… I’m incredibly pleased with the discovery of the NEK1 gene adding another step towards our ultimate goal, eradicating this disease from the face of the earth,” project entrepreneur and ALS patient Bernard Muller said.
While the primary impact of the IBC has been to advance ALS research, an interesting side effect has been the power that these internet fads possess. The IBC quite literally changed science, not to mention pioneered a new way for associations to raise the funds they desperately need. The question to ask now is what does this mean for social media and interactive sites. Using these sites as a medium opens a number of possibilities for both medicine, and media, making me rethink how cynicism I approach internet fads.