For a serious thinking take on the trending ice bucket challenge, see this Vox article. What really impresses me is the gentleness with which they deliver their party pooper message.
Sometimes our decisions about donating don't even seem to be driven by values or potential impact — but by celebrities and the entertainment value of the fundraising campaigns they endorse. Look no further than the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge…
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and its virality, raise some interesting questions about which charities and health causes we choose to give to. It seems to add further evidence to the fact that celebrities and gimmicks often drive our charitable donating more than, perhaps, they should…
ALS kills about 6,000 people in the United States a year. For context’s sake, understand that heart disease kills about 600,000, trips and falls within the home is about 6,000, and shark attacks is about 5. Both awareness and money are a scarce resources, should we really employ them on something so ultimately trivial?
William MacAskill, founder 80,000 Hours, suggests that people simply need to think a little more before giving. In particular, he draws a distinction between honoring a cause that matters to you and trying to do the maximum good with your dollars. "Showing respect or affection toward a loved one who passed away, for example, is an admirable way to donate." But it's not the same as thinking about the impact of your investment.
After being challenged, I looked into ALS. I really wanted it to be something important that properly deserves our limited awareness. It is not. I don’t think I will be accepting the challenge. It is not altruistic to give into a game that makes people feel like they’ve done something good when they haven’t. I think the amount of charity people want to engage in is largely fixed, and engaging in trivial charity crowds out the amount of engagement people want to have with other kinds. We have a cognitive and financial budget we’re willing to direct toward charitable causes. The budget is a little more than the point at which we feel the most good about ourselves (what looks like charity is mostly selfish but partly altruistic). The ALS ice bucket challenge is a waste of that budget.
