Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells and causes paralysis before ultimately killing the individual with it, but you probably didn’t know that.

ALS is gaining national attention with the social media campaign called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. This campaign consists of someone taking a bucket of ice, dumping it on his or her head and nominating a few friends to continue the trend, or they have to donate money to the ALS Association. And it is working: As of Aug. 25, the association has received $79 million in less than a month.

Bringing awareness to a serious illness is inarguably a good thing. Yet, this campaign has brought up multiple issues with our culture and the way we justify our actions to have a clean conscience.

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One of the problems with this campaign is how it has become a narcissistic means of conforming for people to feel good about themselves. People take a serious illness that others suffer from, make it into a comedic means of entertainment and then feel as if they have actually helped a cause.

This relatively new concept of “slacktivism” makes people think once they’ve posted to social media, they have done their part to bring attention to a disease.

But all it does is bring attention.

Some would say even just talking about it is enough, but what difference does it make if no one understands the disease?

Although the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has raised millions of dollars for the ALS association, funneling tons of money into any organization has disadvantages.

According to the ALS Association website, only 19 percent of funds for the organization go to patient and community services. In 2013, more than $6 million was used to fund research grants.

The ALS Association’s tax form filed with the IRS in 2012 stated $5,138,716 was spent on salaries, including more than $300,000 for the president alone. The 10 highest paid employees individually make more than $100,000 each, with some making significantly more.

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If current donations were spent this way, only $15,181,000 of the nearly $80 million would go to actual patient resources.

While organizations have to pay people in order to function, there is no need to pay multiple employees hundreds of thousands of dollars when there is a lack of funding in other areas.

Presented with information about where money is going and the social media craze, people appear to be okay with the idea that at least something is happening for a cause, when so much more can be done.

Rather than justifying it by thinking more money is being raised than before, people need to advocate for those who cannot do it for themselves.

Individuals are doing the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, but that’s all they’re doing. It is not acceptable to sit back and be okay with money and resources going anywhere except to those who suffer and their families.

To actually make a change, activism needs to entail much more than blindly donating money and a bucket of ice water.

Branda Mitchell can be reached at [email protected]