It is a warm, bright day in summer 2014 and you hear from a friend that you have been nominated for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Eleven years later, you are once again informed that you have been selected, this time for the USC Speak Your Mind Ice Bucket Challenge.
The USC Speak Your Mind Challenge, made by the University of Southern California, is an internet trend that follows the footsteps of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which served to bring awareness to people with ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that damages nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. In the USC Speak Your Mind Challenge, the participants have ice-cold water poured over their heads then they nominate their friends to do the same. .
Like its predecessor, the USC Speak Your Mind challenge has gained popularity primarily through social media.
“I heard about the ice bucket challenge through my friends and on Instagram,” said sophomore Oliver Anderson, who participated in the trend. “Everybody was posting it on their stories.”
The challenge spread through Instagram, with people nominating others after doing the challenge. Generally, people would nominate two to six people to participate in the challenge.
“I really started to hear about it when I got nominated,” said Anderson. “A lot of people were telling me that I got nominated.”
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness 16.5% of youth ages six to 17 have dealt with mental health disorders. The USC Speak Your Mind Challenge encourages people to seek help with mental health problems, which is a topic people often do not feel comfortable talking about.
“My favorite part about the ice bucket challenge was how it brought awareness to mental health,” Anderson said. “How it encouraged people to speak out about their problems.”
Mental health struggles are often not talked about in fear of the stigma surrounding them.
“I hope it would encourage people to do something if they are struggling with mental health,” said Anderson. “I felt great after doing it. I felt like I was helping.”
A little bit of ice water can go a long way when backed by a message to increase awareness of big problems, whether it be ALS or mental health.
