The Fad About a Disease

Written by Jazlyn Ko

I’m sure you’re familiar with the ever so famous ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. (But in case you don’t I’ll explain its mechanics) Once you’re nominated, one has two options. The first is to donate 100$ to ALSA.org to help fund research for the said disease. The second is record yourself dumping a bucket of ice cold water on your entire body to help spread awareness on social media within 24 hours. Of course, you have the option to perform both options. The ALS Ice Bucket challenge was no doubt a hit and was very famous for quite a period of time.

Social Media is the key.

The ALS Bucket Challenge is certainly a good way to spread word about the disease. I’m impressed that the creator used social media, something that is considered a necessity in this generation, to spread awareness so fast. It was effective enough that the young, old and anyone in between are familiar that there is a disease called ALS. However, I have spotted some flaws from the said challenge.

Spotted flaws

I’m sure the creator of the said challenge wanted everyone to be aware of ALS for a good cause. Unfortunately, not everyone knew the rules (or was too lazy to search for it).As a result, people take and post videos of themselves doing challenge without explaining what ALS is. Consequently, majority of us only know the name of the disease, but we don’t know what it is, its deadly properties and its symptoms. We aren’t actually aware. Because no one really knows what the disease is all about, then isn’t it a waste of water?

Speaking of water, The ALS Ice Bucket Challenged “debuted” when there was a drought it America. This evidently resulted to hate from some people. I agree that dumping a bucket of cold water on yourself is a waste, especially if you’re not going to explain what ALS is. However, there is a way to have the best of both worlds for everyone. Why not use water from the pool or perhaps the beach. Just add some ice and it’d still have the same effect. Don’t have a pool or live near a beach? You can stand on a basin to catch the water and reuse it to give your car a bath.

ALS is truthfully a serious disease and definitely deserves more notice. I pay my respect to the founder of the challenge for being able to spread the word all over the world. I really hope that after reading this, does who have done the Ice Bucket Challenge but are still ignorant about this disease will do their research. After all, the purpose of this challenge is to be informed about ALS.

Do you agree or perhaps share a different opinion? Either way, leave a comment below and I’ll reply. Thank you for reading.