I'm sure most of you are familiar with the social media trends for causes such as the no-makeup selfie for breast cancer or the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Well now there's a new cause socialites are throwing their support behind: the Stop-Drop Selfie for MS.
The problem is, the “for MS” is getting dropped along the way.
For those of you unfamiliar with the trends, the basics of it are that when somebody nominates you to participate on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you stop what you're doing, take a selfie and post it to social media with the hashtag #StopDropSelfieforMS. You then tag some of your friends in the picture, nominating them to do the same.
The idea is that when you post the picture, you are supposed to donate to the cause – in this case to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. However, even if you can't donate it never hurts to spread awareness.
But you can't spread awareness if you don't put the reason why you're posting the picture. If the “for MS” is left out of the stop-drop selfie, the trend becomes pointless.
I am all for social media trends that support causes. It allows younger kids and a different generation to get involved in causes they wouldn't normally have anything to do with. It's all too often that we hear, or say ourselves, the phrase “kids these days…” and it never seems to be followed with anything good.
These social media trends give the youth a chance to get involved in charities and causes they otherwise probably wouldn't even know about.
I saw it myself with my two younger brothers, ages 13 and 14. When the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was spreading like wildfire this past summer, they didn't hesitate to fill a bucket full of cold water and ice cubes and dump it over their heads while being taped.
Now these are two typical boys who like hockey, guns and think they are “too cool” for just about everything. For them to be getting involved in spreading awareness about an important cause, well that is the power of social media being used for good right there.
Kids might do a lot of stupid, stupid things on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram these days, but it's amazing how quick they are to do good when they get the chance. If they're not exactly sure what diseases like ALS or MS are, it opens up the door for parents or even teachers to take the opportunity to teach them about the causes they're supporting and the importance of charity work.
The point of these trends is ultimately to bring in more donations to help with research for treatments and cures for the different diseases. Even if it's only $2, anything helps and it's a chance to teach kids about giving.
However, if you can't donate, at least help spread awareness. For many diseases, awareness is a key issue that, if increased, could greatly help those living with it. Having a close family member living with MS myself, I greatly support the stop-drop selfie for MS.
But don't, and I can't stress this enough, don't leave out the “for MS”.
While there's nothing wrong with posting selfies – I do it myself, don't turn an important cause into just another meaningless, self-indulgent picture.
