New challenge: ignore social media and donate to charities you support

In our last report on the cultural phenomenon of self-glaciation to spike donations and awareness for the neurodegenerative disorder ALS, we wondered if President Obama would join in the righteous fun. While the president supports the cause, he apparently prefers to stay dry.

Has the video campaign become irrelevant? After all, the challenge has passed the point of novel ubiquity on social media, and accepting the challenge actually releases you from the obligatory $100 donation to an ALS charity. In one recent critique, Time reporter Jacob Davidson even suggests that “the viral nature of this fad appears centered around an aversion to giving money…[even] suggesting that being cold, wet, and uncomfortable is preferable to fighting ALS.”

Faults aside, Slate Technology writer Will Oremus acknowledges the campaign’s positives—it raised about $1.35 million in two weeks to benefit over 12,000 Americans suffering from ALS—but he urges cutting ice baths out of the donation equation.

What do you think? Is the ice bucket challenge still about spreading ALS awareness, or has it become more about taking off your shirt to cut into a social media conga line?

Andy is a graphics editor and cartoonist at Fusion.