My wife and I make donations to non-profits, not because it’s cool, but because we believe in their causes. But you will not see video on this site of me pouring a bucket of ice over myself as part of the Ice Bucket Challenge — not because I don’t think you should give money to worthy causes, but because I agree with Will Oremus of Slate:

It’s hard to shake the feeling that, for most of the people posting ice bucket videos of themselves on Facebook, Vine, and Instagram, the charity part remains a postscript. Remember, the way the challenge is set up, the ice-drenching is the alternative to contributing actual money. Some of the people issuing the challenges have tweaked the rules by asking people to contribute $10 even if they do soak themselves. Even so, a lot of the participants are probably spending more money on bagged ice than on ALS research.


As for “raising awareness,” few of the videos I’ve seen contain any substantive information about the disease, why the money is needed, or how it will be used. More than anything else, the ice bucket videos feel like an exercise in raising awareness of one’s own zaniness, altruism, and/or attractiveness in a wet T-shirt.

Read his whole piece here.