tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/ice-bucket-challenge-12069/articlesIce bucket challenge – The Conversation2023-09-22T12:29:40Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2044502023-09-22T12:29:40Z2023-09-22T12:29:40Z4 reasons teens take part in social media challenges<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541835/original/file-20230809-15-old50p.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young people often participate in a challenge to feel included among peers who have already done it.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/twin-sisters-using-mobile-phone-on-bedroom-at-home-royalty-free-image/1487171490">Frazao Studio Latino/E+ Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/4-razones-por-las-que-los-adolescentes-participan-en-retos-en-las-redes-sociales-216882"><em>Leer en español.</em></a> </p>
<p>Social media challenges are wide-ranging – both in the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/09/09/14-year-old-dies-after-trying-the-paqui-one-chip-challenge/?sh=7755dc1e4a87">stunts they involve</a> and the <a href="https://www.als.org/stories-news/ice-bucket-challenge-dramatically-accelerated-fight-against-als">reasons why people do them</a>. </p>
<p>But why do young people take up challenges that pose a threat to health, well-being and, occasionally, their very lives?</p>
<p>We are an engineering professor who specializes in understanding <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OhgYMhYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">how humans interact with computers</a> and a psychology professor with expertise in mental health, specifically <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vnd69CIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">traumatic stress and suicide</a>.</p>
<p>Together with our research team, we conducted a series of studies to try to understand what motivates teens and young adults to participate in different challenges.</p>
<p>For these studies, from January 2019 to January 2020, we interviewed dozens of high school and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100014">college students</a> in both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">the United States</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100005">south India</a> who had participated in social media challenges. We also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3392831">analyzed 150 news reports</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/15973">60 public YouTube videos</a>, over a thousand comments on those YouTube videos, and 150 Twitter posts – all of which were specifically about the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-46505722">blue whale challenge</a>. This challenge, popularized in 2015 and 2016, was reported to involve progressively risky acts of self-harm that culminate in suicide.</p>
<p>We identified four key factors that motivate young people to participate in a challenge: social pressure, the desire for attention, entertainment value and a phenomenon called the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764202250670">contagion effect</a>. </p>
<h2>1. Social pressure</h2>
<p>Social pressure typically comes when a friend encourages another friend to do something, and the person believes they will achieve acceptance within a particular social group if they do it. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">We found that participation</a> in challenges that promote a good cause, such as the ice bucket challenge, often resulted from direct encouragement. Ice bucket challenge participants, for example, would complete the challenge and then publicly nominate others to do the same.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, young adults who engaged in riskier challenges primarily wanted to feel included in a group that had already participated in such a challenge. This was true for the <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/d75enx/this-woman-is-trying-to-end-the-cinnamon-challenge-after-her-sons-death">cinnamon challenge</a>, where participants rapidly consumed cinnamon and sometimes experienced lung damage and infection. For example, 38% of research participants who engaged in the cinnamon challenge acknowledged that they were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">seeking peer acceptance</a>, rather than being directly encouraged to participate. </p>
<p>“I think I did it because everyone I was going to school with did it at the time,” said one student who saw the challenge as popular among their peers. “And I figured there has to be something about it if everyone was doing it.” </p>
<h2>2. Seeking attention</h2>
<p>A form of attention-seeking behavior exclusive to participants of the ice bucket challenge was a wish to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">recognized for supporting a commendable cause</a>.</p>
<p>However, the attention-seeking behavior we observed among teens and young adults often led to participants innovating a more hazardous version of a challenge. This included enduring the associated risks longer than others. </p>
<p>For example, one participant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3538383">in the cinnamon challenge</a> swallowed powdered cinnamon for a period longer than their peers. “It was definitely peers, and like I said, you know, the attention,” they said. “Seeing other friends posting videos and who could do the challenge longer.”</p>
<h2>3. Entertainment</h2>
<p>Many young adults participated in these challenges for amusement and curiosity. Some were intrigued by the potential reactions from people who witnessed their performance.</p>
<p>“It seemed like fun, and I personally liked the artist who sings the song,” said one participant about the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/07/31/arrests-fines-and-injuries-the-in-my-feelings-challenge-has-gone-global-with-dangerous-results/">Kiki challenge</a>. The challenge involves dancing next to a moving car after stepping out of it to Drake’s song “In My Feelings.”</p>
<p>Others were interested in experiencing the sensations associated with executing the challenge. They wondered if their responses would mirror the other individuals they had observed doing it.</p>
<p>One participant said it was “mostly curiosity” that motivated them to do the cinnamon challenge: “Just because, seeing other people’s reactions, I kind of wanted to see if I would have the same reaction.”</p>
<h2>4. Contagion effect</h2>
<p>Challenges, even those that are seemingly benign, can spread quickly across social media. This is due to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764202250670">contagion effect</a>, where behaviors, attitudes and ideas spread from person to person. How content creators depict these challenges on digital media platforms also contributes to the contagion effect by encouraging others to participate. </p>
<p>After analyzing digital media content <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/15973">related to the blue whale challenge</a>, we found YouTube videos about this challenge often violated the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s nine <a href="https://reportingonsuicide.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/ROS-One-PagerUpdated2022.pdf">messaging guidelines</a>. This means the posts exhibited risk factors for promoting contagion of harmful behaviors.</p>
<p>Specifically, of the 60 YouTube videos we analyzed regarding the blue whale challenge, 37% adhered to fewer than three guidelines, categorizing them as primarily unsafe. The most commonly violated guidelines involved failure to avoid detailed or glorified portrayals of suicide and its victims, to describe help-seeking resources, and to emphasize effective mental health treatments.</p>
<p>Our research also explored how participants viewed challenges after doing them. Half of those who engaged in a risky challenge indicated that if they had understood the physical danger or potential risk to their social image, they might have opted not to do the challenge.</p>
<p>“I would not have done the cinnamon challenge if [I had known that] someone ended up in a hospital performing it,” one respondent told us.</p>
<p>Based on our research, we believe that if more information about the potential risks of social media challenges was offered to students in schools, communicated to parents and shared on social media, it could help teens and young adults reflect and make informed decisions – and deter them from participating.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204450/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kapil Chalil Madathil receives funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heidi Zinzow receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.</span></em></p>Peer pressure, amusement and the desire for attention help explain why young people participate in risky social media challenges.Kapil Chalil Madathil, Wilfred P. Tiencken Professor of Industrial and Civil Engineering, Clemson UniversityHeidi Zinzow, Professor of Psychology, Clemson UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2050962023-05-30T12:23:06Z2023-05-30T12:23:06ZAfter the ALS ice bucket challenge and the rise of MrBeast, stunt philanthropy might be here to stay<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527859/original/file-20230523-15345-lbuwlx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=59%2C623%2C4873%2C2670&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, leaned into charity to get a massive following.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/youtube-personality-jimmy-donaldson-better-known-as-mrbeast-news-photo/1247748364?adppopup=true">Michael Tran/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Stunt philanthropy is what happens when influencers, other celebrities and people who aren’t famous at all use entertaining videos to encourage support for a charitable cause. </p>
<p>When their stunts go viral, it can lead to massive public engagement that raises lots of money and draws new attention to previously less visible causes. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oF3mmcYFoYs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Donald Trump took the ALS ice bucket challenge in 2014.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why stunt philanthropy matters</h2>
<p>The biggest early success with stunt philanthropy online was the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/03/ice-bucket-challenge-5-things-you-should-know/448006001/">ALS ice bucket challenge</a>. </p>
<p>People taking the challenge uploaded short videos in which someone dropped a bucket of icy water on their head. They then posted these clips on their social media accounts, tagging others to do the same and to donate to the ALS Association. Participants ranged from high school students to <a href="https://youtu.be/XS6ysDFTbLU">Bill Gates</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/5W37Z6U16MY">Mark Zuckerberg</a>. Even <a href="https://youtu.be/oF3mmcYFoYs">Donald Trump</a> took the challenge, before his presidency. </p>
<p>The campaign raised <a href="https://www.als.org/stories-news/ice-bucket-challenge-dramatically-accelerated-fight-against-als">an estimated US$115 million</a> in 2014 for research tied to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – a fatal neurological condition for which there is no cure. </p>
<p>More recently, stunt philanthropy has become associated with a single infuencer: Jimmy Donaldson. By late 2022, when he was 24 years old, the <a href="https://www.wnct.com/local-news/youtube-star-greenvilles-own-mrbeast-rethinks-old-notions-of-philanthropy/">entrepreneur who calls himself “MrBeast</a>” had <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2022/11/mr-beast-now-most-subscribed-youtuber-ever-overtaking-pewdiepie-726321">more followers on YouTube than anyone else, ever</a>.</p>
<p>Donaldson calls himself “<a href="https://viewpoint.pointloma.edu/the-rise-of-the-social-media-influencer/">YouTube’s biggest philanthropist</a>.” He has gained <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@MrBeast">more than 150 million YouTube subscribers</a> through his entertaining stunt videos, such as recreating a game show version of the <a href="https://youtu.be/0e3GPea1Tyg">popular Korean Netflix series “Squid Game</a>” and giving the winner $456,000.</p>
<p>He relies on <a href="https://observer.com/2023/02/mrbeasts-sponsors-can-reach-a-super-bowl-sized-audience-for-half-the-price-of-a-super-bowl-ad">corporate partners like Honey</a>, TikTok and Quidd to pull off the stunts that have made him a celebrity.</p>
<p>Donaldson’s stunt videos have helped him earn lots of money for himself through advertising and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/technology/mr-beast-youtube.html">sale of socks, water bottles and other merchandise</a>. He has created his own candy company, <a href="https://feastables.com/">Feastables</a>, which he celebrated with a stunt video that featured his own replica of <a href="https://youtu.be/Hwybp38GnZw">Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory</a>.</p>
<p>He now runs a <a href="https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/mrbeast-breaks-another-record-with-his-mrbeast-burger-restaurant-opening-1922897/">global burger chain that partners with local restaurants</a> and reportedly made <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2022/01/14/the-highest-paid-youtube-stars-mrbeast-jake-paul-and-markiplier-score-massive-paydays/?sh=46f766d11aa7">$54 million in 2021</a> alone.</p>
<p>Building on his formula for creating viral content, Donaldson also creates stunt videos that raise awareness and money and amass needed goods for Ukrainian refugees, African orphans and a <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/much-does-mrbeast-much-does-050300091.html">wide array of other causes</a>.</p>
<p>In addition to partnering with companies, Donaldson also teams up with nonprofits for his philanthropy-themed stunts. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TJ2ifmkGGus?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In early 2023, Donaldson collaborated with SEE International to facilitate 1,000 cataract surgeries.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Beast Philanthropy</h2>
<p>In May 2023, Donaldson worked with <a href="https://youtu.be/w1UzSiWUrr8">Hearing the Call</a> to provide hearing aids to 1,000 people across the U.S., Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, South Africa, Malwai and Indonesia and donated $100,000 to organizations that promote education in sign language. The video his team made publicizing this campaign showcased the delighted looks on many of the faces of people getting the hearing aids.</p>
<p>Alongside posting these videos on his main YouTube channel, Donaldson has created a separate <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@BeastPhilanthropy">Beast Philanthropy</a> channel. Among the videos posted is one that celebrates <a href="https://youtu.be/STiUV6XXG4E">giving supplies to underfunded schools</a>, sponsored by Sun-Maid, a raisin producer, and another that showed <a href="https://youtu.be/BNO6DjteidM">homes being rebuilt in Kentucky following tornado devastation</a>, sponsored by Nord VPN, a tech company.</p>
<p>Some people have questioned <a href="https://www.thegamer.com/mrbeast-is-only-a-good-person-for-views/">Donaldson’s motives for his eye-catching charitable acts</a>, while others have raised ethical concerns about the way he <a href="https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2023/2/2/23582916/mrbeast-backlash-1000-people-cataracts-surgery-blind-surgery">uses footage of people in need for online entertainment</a>.</p>
<p>It’s much easier for public displays of charitable giving to go viral today because of social media, but there are precedents from pre-internet days.</p>
<p>From 1966 to 2010, the entertainer <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/tv/2015/09/what_happened_to_the_jerry_lew.html">Jerry Lewis</a> raised millions of dollars for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and spread awareness about the disease with help from his famous friends during annual 24-hour telethons. </p>
<p>And Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson convened a celebrity supergroup to perform the charity relief song “<a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/we-are-the-world-79429907/416483.html">We are the World</a>” in 1985 to raise money for African famine relief – following an example set by <a href="https://www.smoothradio.com/features/the-story-of/do-they-know-its-christmas-band-aid-lyrics-artists/">British musicians a year earlier</a>.</p>
<p>It’s hard to predict what the future holds for stunt philanthropy, but it seems to me that it’s probably here to stay. That is why I will continue to keep studying how <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eFzpsScAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">social media can influence charitable giving</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205096/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monica Lea does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The person with the most YouTube followers calls himself ‘YouTube’s biggest philanthropist.’Monica Lea, PhD Student in Public Administration, University of Nebraska OmahaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2046862023-05-18T12:41:39Z2023-05-18T12:41:39ZTeenage brains are drawn to popular social media challenges – here’s how parents can get their kids to think twice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526556/original/file-20230516-34281-bribzy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C190%2C6351%2C3218&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The milk crate challenge went viral in the summer of 2021. ER doctors weren't amused. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/man-walks-up-a-pyramid-of-milk-crates-while-he-participates-news-photo/1234866474">Apu Gomes/AFP/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Viral social media trends started innocently enough. </p>
<p>In the early 2010s there was <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304906004576371770200241238">planking</a>, the “<a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy74kz/harlem-shake-origin-story">Harlem Shake” dance</a> and lip syncing to Carly Rae Jepsen’s summer anthem “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPIA7mpm1wU">Call Me Maybe</a>.”</p>
<p>Then came the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/03/ice-bucket-challenge-5-things-you-should-know/448006001/">ice bucket challenge</a>, which raised <a href="https://www.als.org/stories-news/ice-bucket-challenge-dramatically-accelerated-fight-against-als">an estimated US$115 million</a> for ALS research. </p>
<p>In recent years, social media challenges have grown more popular – and more dangerous, leading to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/08/24/milk-crate-challenge/">serious injuries</a> and even <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/laundry-cleaning/liquid-laundry-detergent-pods-pose-lethal-risk/">deaths</a>. It’s not hard to see why. The <a href="https://www.nj.com/news/2021/08/what-is-the-milk-crate-challenge-heres-what-to-know-about-the-dangerous-viral-craze.html">milk crate challenge</a> dares people to walk or run across a loosely stacked pyramid of milk crates, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/20/us/tide-pod-challenge.html">Tide pod challenge</a> involves eating laundry detergent pods, and the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/18/us/benadryl-tiktok-challenge-teen-death-wellness/index.html">Benadryl challenge</a> encourages taking six or more doses of over-the-counter allergy medication all at once.</p>
<p>As clinical psychology researchers, we study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zyCKELoAAAAJ&hl=en">why social media challenges</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=sN15ck8AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate">are so appealing to teens</a> despite the dangers they pose, and steps parents can take to protect their kids. </p>
<h2>Appeal of viral stunts</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/">Almost all American teens</a> today have access to a smartphone and actively use multiple social media platforms – with YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat being <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/">the most popular</a> among this age group. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the teenage years are linked to an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002">increase in risk-taking</a>. The human brain isn’t fully developed until <a href="https://karger.com/dne/article/36/3-4/147/107931/The-Developmental-Mismatch-in-Structural-Brain">a person reaches their mid-20s</a>, and the parts of the brain that relate to reward and doing what feels good develop more quickly than areas linked to decision-making. As a result, teens are more likely to act impulsively and risk physical injury to gain popularity. </p>
<p>Teens are also particularly vulnerable to social pressure.</p>
<p>A 2016 study found that teens were <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1177/0956797616645673">more likely to “like” a photo</a> – even when it showed drug or alcohol use – if the photo had more “likes” from peers. The same study also showed that activity increased in the reward centers of teenage brains when viewing posts with more “likes.” Simply put, teens pay closer attention to social media content with a high number of “likes” and views. </p>
<p>In best-case scenarios, this vulnerability to social pressure may result in, say, buying a certain brand of sneakers. Yet in worst-case scenarios, this can lead teens to do dangerous stunts to impress or amuse their friends.</p>
<p>In our work, we found that celebrities, musicians, athletes and influencers can also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13620">increase risky teen behaviors</a>, such as alcohol and drug use, especially because they earn many “likes” and attract huge followings on social media. </p>
<p>Teens today may find it more difficult to resist social pressure. They not only have unlimited access to their peers and other influencers, but online social networks are also much larger, with teens following hundreds – sometimes thousands – of online users. </p>
<h2>What parents can do</h2>
<p>Below are five ways <a href="https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/social-media-parent-tips">parents can help their teen</a> resist social pressure and avoid risks linked to social media trends.</p>
<p><strong>1. Listen to your teen</strong></p>
<p>Parents can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0054">learn more about social media</a> by asking their teen open-ended questions about their experiences, such as, “Has anything you’ve seen on Instagram upset you lately?”</p>
<p>Share your own concerns about social media while listening to your teen’s thoughts and perspectives. This kind of open communication can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mph.2019.200160">improve kids’ mental health and social skills</a>. </p>
<p>Research also shows that watching media content with your teens – and discussing issues that come up during and after media use – helps with children’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809481-5.00003-1">brain development</a> and critical thinking. It can also help to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01593-6">resolve questions or clear up misinformation</a>.</p>
<p><strong>2. Talk about what is rewarding</strong></p>
<p>Teens don’t always know why they engage in certain behaviors or are curious about dangerous activities. <a href="https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/social-media-literacy-teens">Having a conversation</a> with them about what feels good about “likes” and comments online could help them identify similar rewarding experiences offline – such as joining a school sports team or extracurricular club. Research shows that <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/143/6/e20190997/37135/Organized-Sports-for-Children-Preadolescents-and">sports participation</a> is a helpful way to build one’s social identity, self-esteem and meaningful connections with others.</p>
<p><strong>3. Talk about what is risky</strong></p>
<p>Social media posts often <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3444961">glamorize risky behaviors</a>. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.10.004">alcohol use posts</a> focus on the fun aspects and avoid depictions of blackouts or injury. Similarly, teens see “likes” and views from social media challenges, but not hospitalizations and deaths.</p>
<p>Parents can talk to teens about this gap. Since teens are often more knowledgeable about the latest social media challenges, ask them about the topic and help them think through possible risks. </p>
<p><strong>4. Get informed</strong></p>
<p>One of the best ways to connect with teens is to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv12fw92r">learn about topics that interest them</a>. If they enjoy Instagram, consider creating your own account and ask them to show you the ropes on the platform, as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2019.1675851">teaching others can be rewarding</a> for teens. Also, take the time to explore on your own and keep up to date on social media features, challenges and risky trends. </p>
<p><strong>5. Make a plan</strong></p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/fmp/Pages/MediaPlan.aspx">family media plan</a> can help you and your teen agree on screen-free times, media curfews and ways to choose good media habits. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/41352/chapter/352515466">Social media can also help teens</a> form friendships, stay connected with distant friends and family members, reduce stress and access medical providers, help lines or other tools that support physical and mental health.</p>
<p>Come up with a plan that all family members can follow to enjoy the benefits of social media. Your family can always revise the media plan as your child gets older.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elisa M Trucco receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. . </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Cristello receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.</span></em></p>Adolescent brains are especially vulnerable to risk-taking and social pressure. But there are steps parents can take to steer their teen away from dangerous social media stunts.Elisa M. Trucco, Associate Professor of Psychology, Florida International UniversityJulie Cristello, Doctoral candidate in Clinical Science, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/854432017-10-22T19:03:04Z2017-10-22T19:03:04ZMovember, ice buckets, fun runs and ‘dry’ months: why philanthropy of the body is all the rage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190750/original/file-20171018-32345-19g5kbh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social media is now a major driver of embodied philanthropy because it allows individuals to publicise their involvement through selfies, videos and status updates.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Donating to a charity used to be no more physically arduous then reaching into your wallet. But it is often a much more demanding process now, or at least it can be. </p>
<p>We’ve watched friends trade clean shaves for <a href="https://au.movember.com/">Movember</a> moustaches. We’ve donated when family members have done charity fun runs or <a href="https://www.steptember.org.au/">physical challenge fundraisers</a>. We’ve lived through the craze of the <a href="http://www.mndaust.asn.au/MND-Australia-archive/Ice-Bucket-Challenge-(1)/Ice-Bucket-Challenge-FAQ-s.aspx">Ice Bucket Challenge</a>. We may even do a <a href="https://www.dryjuly.com/">Dry July</a> or a <a href="http://febfast.org.au/">FebFast</a> to do something good for ourselves as much as for a good cause. </p>
<p>Charities are devising new ways to use people’s bodies for philanthropic ends in an ever-growing list of appearance, activity and abstention campaigns. And people are eager to step up to that challenge.</p>
<p>For charities, the body gives on many fronts and it can fulfil multiple objectives around fundraising, publicity and education. For participants, especially <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.1471/full">younger people</a> with less time or money for traditional philanthropy, the body is relatively easy to give. </p>
<p>Researchers, however, are only just starting to grapple with embodied philanthropy as a new kind of pro-social behaviour. They have yet to understand just how many people get involved or how much money charities raise in this way. This is largely because charities don’t tend to be grouped or studied based on <em>how</em> they raise funds.</p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.1595/abstract">Embodied philanthropy</a>, charitable activity that relies on the body for its core form of engagement, has nonetheless been growing in popularity. From the mid-1980s, event-style fundraisers capitalised on the new preoccupation with health and fitness to get people running, walking and otherwise moving for a cause. </p>
<p>These events spoke to both personal and social motivations to allow participants to simultaneously do something highly <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.1471/abstract">individualistic and something altruistic</a>. In 2004, the quirky style project of <a href="https://au.movember.com/news/11213/">moustache growing took on a charitable inflection</a>, setting the stage for a raft of appearance based imitators.</p>
<p><a href="http://au.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470547979.html">Social media</a> is now a major driver of embodied philanthropy because it allows individuals to publicise their involvement through <a href="ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/download/3143/1400">selfies</a>, videos and status updates, amplifying the charity’s messages and reach. Online platforms, seamlessly integrated into participant profiles, are also increasingly used for <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272714000036">fundraising</a>. </p>
<p>Although it is difficult to gauge the impact of embodied philanthropy in concrete ways, we understand why the body has become central to modern charities. For charities with goals around fundraising, awareness and even behaviour change, a participant’s single embodied act can be useful in many ways.</p>
<p>The body’s visibility and ability to communicate to others is an important element in raising awareness of a cause. Making a fashion or grooming choice part of a philanthropic signature style can boost publicity and well designed campaigns take full advantage of the high visibility.</p>
<p>Charities can therefore focus attention on making the link between the sign of involvement (a moustache or a shaved head, for instance) and the issues. Participants going about their lives in turn become billboards for the cause. </p>
<p>The body’s ability to suffer and generate empathy is also vital. Donations to those we <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bdm.767/full">perceive to be suffering</a> for a cause tend to be higher than for those who fundraise without personal cost. Accordingly, charities have a financial interest in making particpants’ efforts at least appear to be challenging, painful or embarrassing. </p>
<p>Some health-related charities are also eager to have participants learn or model healthier behaviours by compelling changes to diet or activities. Participants who temporarily give up alcohol for charity, for instance, wind up learning about the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1363459315600772?journalCode=heaa">important role alcohol plays</a> in many social situations, and practice <a href="https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/bitstream/handle/10072/49570/84395_1.pdf%3Bsequence=1">strategies for refusing drinks</a>. In turn they become spokespeople for the charity’s larger public health objectives.</p>
<p>Charities get a lot out of embodied philanthropy. They are <a href="https://www.sociologicalscience.com/download/vol-3/march/SocSci_v3_202to238.pdf">peer-to-peer initiatives</a> that rely on participants to do a substantial share of the publicity and fundraising.</p>
<p>For participants, it’s not all about altruism and sacrifice, either: they get something out of it. They might use the campaign as an excuse to try out a new look, or force themselves to exercise more or drink less. </p>
<p>Philanthropists have long held <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2234133?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">mixed motives</a> for giving (tax breaks, social acclaim), but it is no coincidence that embodied philanthropy grew exponentially in the era of social media. Daily step totals are logged to encouraging endorsements and photos of changed appearances are hashtagged for the participant’s validation as much as for the cause. </p>
<p>Critics of this phenomenon label it <a href="http://www.ojs.meccsa.org.uk/index.php/netknow/article/view/406">slacktivism</a> and nothing more. </p>
<p>Yet for charities, even those who raise no money but transform their bodies in the ways required are valuable assets. These freeloaders or bandwagoners become part of the collective that endorses the action and the cause. In turn, they can propel unlikely campaigns, such as the Ice Bucket Challenge, to <a href="https://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v20/n10/full/nm1014-1080.html">unexpected successes</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85443/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Robert does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Physical philanthropy is growing in popularity because it has benefits for the charity and the fundraiser.Julie Robert, Senior Lecturer, School of International Studies, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/317582014-10-22T09:36:40Z2014-10-22T09:36:40ZAwash in pink, but breast cancer awareness isn’t a cure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59732/original/4q2c8bpd-1411415664.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Participants and guests at a Walk for Breast Cancer decked out in pink.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-104793701/stock-photo-czech-republic-prague-june-participants-and-guests-celebrate-after-the-final-ceremony-speeches.html?src=GskVD3-OuyGt-Go5wVFXQw-1-40">Breast cancer walk image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This month, we are inundated with pink. By wearing pink ribbons, purchasing pink products, and participating in walks and other collective activities, citizens try to raise awareness of the scourge of breast cancer, with the eventual goal of curing the disease. But three decades after October was established as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we need to ask ourselves: has all our pink paraphernalia really helped improve health?</p>
<p>At best, the results are mixed. <a href="http://asr.sagepub.com/content/77/5/780.short">Studies show</a> these campaigns can put a particular disease on the map, which can be valuable for rare illnesses. The summer of 2014’s <a href="http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html">Ice Bucket Challenge</a> for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a perfect example. It raised the disease’s profile and the ALS Association generated <a href="http://www.alsa.org/news/archive/als-association-thankyou-video.html">US$100 million in donations</a> in a month. But dumping a bucket of ice over your head doesn’t teach you anything about the disease or how it affects those who suffer from it. Those who donated money had little sense of how their efforts might improve the health and lives of ALS patients, and a year on, the disease and its sufferers have been largely forgotten.</p>
<p>The longer history of breast cancer awareness efforts gives us a deeper understanding of the benefits and limits of these kinds of campaigns. Without a doubt, the past three decades have generated an enormous increase in public awareness of breast cancer. There have been thousands of consciousness-raising events across the world, and hundreds of targeted initiatives among government agencies, major corporations and nonprofit organizations, to the point that it’s not strange to see even <a href="http://www.nfl.com/pink">NFL players</a> decked out in pink during October. </p>
<p>Breast cancer research funding has grown considerably. In 1990 the US federal government spent <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0141-9889.2004.00420.x/full">less than $100 million</a> on the disease. Now the government and top private foundations spend <a href="http://pinkribbonblues.org/resources/beyond-awareness-workbook/background/funding-for-research/">at least $1 billion</a> annually. And there has been a massive <a href="http://www.hrsa.gov/quality/toolbox/measures/breastcancer/">increase</a> in mammography screening. </p>
<p>But across the world, breast cancer rates have gone up right along with awareness. In the United States, a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer has gone from one in 20 in the 1960s to <a href="http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@research/documents/document/acspc-042725.pdf">one in eight</a> today. While part of this shift can be explained by increased access to mammography, researchers also point to long-term use of <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/probability-breast-cancer">hormone therapies</a> and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1582-4934.2005.tb00350.x/abstract">lifestyle changes</a>. This year in the US, nearly <a href="http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsstatistics/breast-cancer-facts-figures">a quarter of a million</a> women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Mammography <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1206809">does not seem to reduce</a> breast cancer mortality. </p>
<p>And while survival rates have improved for white women, women of color have not seen the same gains: today, black women are <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/breastcancer/">40% more likely</a> to die of breast cancer than their white counterparts. Even women of color who are diagnosed early have more aggressive cancers. Low-income women also have <a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/9/364">difficulty accessing</a> the expensive treatments that are improving survival rates for middle- and high-income women. </p>
<p>Also problematic is the fact that the breast cancer awareness movement’s enormous success has actually led women to overestimate their risk of getting the disease while underestimating their risks of contracting more common – but at least as deadly – conditions, including <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm">heart disease</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98346/original/image-20151014-879-xsmj7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98346/original/image-20151014-879-xsmj7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/98346/original/image-20151014-879-xsmj7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98346/original/image-20151014-879-xsmj7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98346/original/image-20151014-879-xsmj7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98346/original/image-20151014-879-xsmj7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98346/original/image-20151014-879-xsmj7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/98346/original/image-20151014-879-xsmj7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s going to take more than a month’s supply of pink ribbons to find a cure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/susangkomenforthecure/9623480056">Susan G Komen®</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So while awareness efforts can focus significant public attention and help scientists raise funds for research, the impact on eradicating the disease itself is much less clear. </p>
<p>Does that mean we should abandon such efforts? Absolutely not. But in the fight against a particular disease, we need to understand that awareness efforts are only initial steps down a very long road. The time has come for us to think about other steps we need to take. </p>
<p>We can begin by putting at least as much time and effort into understanding the social, health, economic, environmental and policy-related challenges faced by individuals at risk for and suffering from a particular disease. Then we should help them fight these battles. Imagine “national days of action” in which we work within communities to improve access to the local health infrastructure. Or we could direct fundraising to organizations that serve patients’ practical and emotional needs. In the case of breast cancer, these <a href="http://www.shanti.org/pages/shanti-model.html">organizations</a> provide help in getting to the grocery store, interacting with medical professionals and communicating the patient’s wishes, and providing home care. </p>
<p>If we continue to focus on increasing research funding, then we need to ask questions not only about the percentage of money actually spent on research as opposed to overhead, but also how to ensure that this research will benefit those suffering from the disease. Scholars have suggested, for example, that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2006.10.001">decisions about allocating research funding</a> be tied to the potential for improved health outcomes and the researchers’ track records in achieving them. At the moment, funding is doled out based primarily on scientific priorities that may or may not align with health and social priorities.</p>
<p>Others have argued that in order to ensure that findings turn into widely available new technologies rather than expensive innovations available only to a few, research efforts must be <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.018">truly interdisciplinary</a>. So a breast cancer team could include not only biologists but also social scientists, public health and policy experts, and even patients. They would work together throughout the research process to produce outputs that are acceptable, useful and affordable to the populations most in need.</p>
<p>And we need to pressure research funding organizations and other policymakers to ensure that intellectual property agreements do not hinder access to important treatments, preventive or diagnostic measures. Until 2013, for example, genetic testing on genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer was extremely expensive in the United States due to a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/business/myriad-genetics-ending-patent-dispute-on-breast-cancer-risk-testing.html?_r=0">patent-based monopoly</a> held by biotechnology company Myriad Genetics. But public interest lawyers, civil society groups, and other citizens fought against the patent, and now the technology is <a href="http://bcconnections.org/resources/brca-test-providers/">cheaper and more widely available</a>. The competition that has emerged may produce more research and better testing too.</p>
<p>If we continue to focus our advocacy on disease awareness efforts, then we will only make limited progress toward our real goals. We must think strategically about generating the same kind of public engagement in all the other steps down the long road toward better health and cures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31758/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shobita Parthasarathy has received funding from the US National Science Foundation and the UK Wellcome Trust. She is on the Board of Directors for Breast Cancer Action.</span></em></p>Awareness efforts can focus public attention and help scientists raise funds for research. But the impact on eradicating the disease itself and helping patients today is much less clear.Shobita Parthasarathy, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Women's Studies, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/309002014-08-27T01:47:05Z2014-08-27T01:47:05ZCritics pour cold water on the Ice Bucket Challenge: are they right?<p>The <a href="http://www.mndaust.asn.au/Get-involved/Ice-Bucket-Challenge.aspx">Ice Bucket Challenge</a> has been called “one of the most viral philanthropic social media campaigns in history”. The campaign has raised the profile of the <a href="http://brainfoundation.org.au/medical-info/8-amyotrophic-lateral-diseases">Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis</a> (ALS). But some have questioned whether campaigns like this one should really be looked at in such a positive light.</p>
<p>There is no disputing the public impact of the campaign. In the past few weeks the Ice Bucket Challenge — a fundraising drive to support ALS research and patient services — has spurred large-scale philanthropic activity. The New York Times reports that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/22/business/media/ice-bucket-challenge-donations-for-als-top-41-million.html?_r=0">contributions totalled US$41.8 million</a> between July 29 and August 21, attracting more than 739,000 new donors.</p>
<p>This seems a welcome development. After all, ALS is a debilitating disease that affects a significant number of people throughout the world. Alleviating the suffering of people who have the disease is surely a worthwhile goal.</p>
<h2>Focusing on the charitable self</h2>
<p>One worry concerns the motives of people giving. Do contributors care deeply about ALS, or do they just want to attract the esteem of others? </p>
<p>This worry seems misplaced. Even if people have mixed motives for promoting a good cause, it is still good that they promote it. And if people are more likely to give when they can gain some public recognition by doing so, fundraisers should take advantage of this. </p>
<p>Another worry is that such campaigns encourage people to respond immediately and unthinkingly when giving. Giving without thinking not only risks failing to do good, it may also lead us to do harm; some have argued that this was the case with the (similarly viral) <a href="https://theconversation.com/viral-video-gone-bad-kony-2012-and-the-perils-of-social-media-5925">KONY2012 campaign</a>.</p>
<p>We share these concerns about philanthropic campaigns. In the case of the Ice Bucket Challenge, however, it’s quite hard to see how donations to this cause could do more harm than good, or would do no good at all. </p>
<h2>The ‘bang for buck’ critique</h2>
<p>A stronger criticism of the Ice Bucket Challenge is that there are alternative ways of spending charitable donations that would bring about greater good. ALS affects roughly two in every 100,000 people, and some have suggested that charitable donations could do more good if spent on things like <a href="https://theconversation.com/poorest-children-twice-as-likely-to-catch-malaria-15350">bed nets to protect people from malaria</a>.</p>
<p>Fighting malaria is a worthy goal, but do people really have a duty to bring about the biggest bang for their charitable buck? Do they act wrongly by responding to the needs of ALS sufferers instead? </p>
<p>Some moral doctrines, such as so-called <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/">act consequentialism</a>, require that we aim to do what will bring about the best consequences. So donating to ALS when you can instead help buy malaria nets is wrong, according to such doctrines, when protecting people from malaria would do more good. </p>
<p>There are well-known objections to this kind of doctrine. One is that trying to bring about the best consequences can be debilitating and counterproductive, given the enormous difficulties involved in calculating the consequences of our actions.</p>
<p>More importantly, it seems unfair (not to mention churlish) to criticise someone who makes a meaningful contribution to an important cause that they care about just because some other cause is deemed more important. Criticising people for not getting the biggest bang for their charitable buck risks turning them off the idea of philanthropic giving altogether.</p>
<h2>Doing some good in a world of need</h2>
<p>If there were only a few morally important goals and we could easily say whose job it was to pursue each of them, we might then criticise people for doing something else instead. But our world is one in which there are morally important goals everywhere we look, and it is not clear whose job it is to pursue which goal. It’s not wrong to commit to helping one group of people in severe need, just because there are many other people in severe need.</p>
<p>We should distinguish doing what brings about the best consequences from doing what can be expected to bring about good consequences. It would take a great deal of research to find out which single charity does the most good with the least resources, but taking a look at websites <a href="http://www.givewell.org/">Givewell.org</a> for evidence about which are generally more efficient is surely a good start. Choosing a cause with almost no impact when you can instead choose a cause with a great deal of impact seems wrong. </p>
<p>So getting some bang for your buck matters, even if getting the biggest bang for your buck isn’t all that matters. Contributing to causes that you care about and feel invested in matters too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30900/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christian Barry receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Research Council of Norway</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holly Lawford-Smith receives funding from the European Commission (Marie Curie FP7) .</span></em></p>The Ice Bucket Challenge has been called “one of the most viral philanthropic social media campaigns in history”. The campaign has raised the profile of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). But some…Christian Barry, Director of the Centre for Moral, Social, and Political Theory , Australian National UniversityHolly Lawford-Smith, Philosopher, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.