Social media all across the country, especially TikTok and Instagram, have seen a sudden reemergence of the ice bucket challenge since it last trended in 2014. This time, the challenge is focused on raising awareness about mental health, unlike the first iteration which was for ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease. The trend was started by students at the University of South Carolina and has since raised more than $100,000 for Active Minds, a non-profit youth mental health organization. 

When you participate in the challenge, you nominate others to also participate within the next 24 hours. Tahoma High School has already seen innumerable students taking part in this activity and including their friends to spread the message. Many students, however, don’t understand the intentions behind this viral trend and simply view it as a fun way to convince their friends to pump ice water on themselves. 

Mental health awareness is an increasingly important topic as rates of related issues such as suicide, self-harm, substance abuse, etc. continue to rise, which is why spreading awareness about this topic is a priority in our community. Tahoma Student, Bryson Compton remarks, “At first I didn’t know what this challenge was about and why I was being ‘nominated’, but when I learned it was about mental health, I felt it was a worthy cause and participated.”