Rinse, repeat, viral: When meaning is lost in trends
Shakespeare was ahead of his time when he wrote, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
With the height of technology and the digital revolution, his poetry could not ring truer. Today’s spotlight isn’t on the best actors but on whoever can post the quickest. It’s now a simple societal rule of thumb that if you want to be found and known, the first step is that you must always have social media or Internet presence.
It’s also all thanks to this fact that trends can easily be born and take the world by storm, quicker than ever. The newest of these trends? The USC (University of Southern Carolina) Ice Bucket Challenge.
Many remember the challenge from back in 2014, where netizens would pour a bucket of ice water over their heads to spread awareness on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that still has no cure. This movement eventually raised millions of dollars for ALS research, and now it’s back in 2025—but what for? Scroll through hundreds of videos and you’ll still find no answers.
Almost every story, reel, or TikTok has a person thanking people for nominating them, dumping a bucket of ice over their heads, and then nominating more people to do the challenge. Some knew the reason why, while alarmingly, most thought that it was a fun summer challenge—and still tagged USC in their posts.
Mockery
The USC Ice Bucket Challenge aims to spread mental health awareness. It was started by students at the university, with a small goal of raising $500. Now, it has snowballed into another sensation—which is great, because better reach equals better support, right? Wrong, because what started as a group of students’ plea to save lives became diluted into a summer meme. Cries for help turned into chasing clout.
The number of people doing that challenge don’t even know it. They don’t mention it. They just hop on a seemingly fun trend, one with an advocacy that means nothing if the message isn’t spread.
It is perfectly alright to do ice bucket challenges, especially to counter the heat nowadays. However, it is a mockery of USC’s very cause for people to claim to do their challenge and spread their advocacy, when in reality, we’re spreading amnesia one bucket at a time.
Have we become so desensitized by the Internet that we would follow trends without carrying their intended advocacy? Or has our ability to do proper research and spread information disappeared altogether?
Either way, it points out a grave issue that plagues society today: performative activism. Viral vanity. A disease where dignity is twisted into popularity.
The problem has spiraled in a way that we can’t point fingers at anyone, or anything. While the power to completely control the narrative lies with us, it is also us who fall victim to it. It is the mass influencers who hop on the trend who have the duty this time to inform the public of what the challenge is all about.
Unfortunately, some influencers have also adopted the pattern of thanking others for the nomination, pouring the bucket of ice water, and nominating others. No mention of mental health awareness, not a peep encouraging people to reach out when they need help. Rinse, repeat, viral.
It does not only reflect a growing concern for society today, but it also paints a horrifying picture of society in the future. What will happen to good causes and advocacies when their meaning is lost in Internet sensationalization?
These movements do not die because of opposition. They are drowned out by forgetfulness when people are busy chasing the applause of others. Next time you repost, know what you’re standing for.
