Over the past few weeks, tapping through friends’ Instagram stories has led users to notice the resurgence of the ice bucket challenge. People have seen their friends and families partake in what seems simple and fun.

The USC Speak Your MIND Challenge recently took social media by storm, resulting in a nationwide takeover, but it is more serious than a fun trend. It all started with the Mental Illness Needs Discussion Club, or M.I.N.D. Club, at the University of South Carolina, on March 31.

It began as a way to raise awareness for mental health and people who may struggle with it. Niya Shaul, a University of Iowa first-year student, is one of many who have contributed to the challenge in the past month. As someone who has noticed the recent increase in those struggling with mental health, she saw it as a chance to help.

“It’s something kind of fun and light-hearted but for a more serious cause that I personally care about,” Shaul said.

The challenge works on a nomination basis, where each person who posts themselves partaking also mentions three people they know to follow in their footsteps. This chain effect furthered the challenge’s virality across several platforms. But the fast takeover led to some of its meaning being lost.

Natalie Conrad, a first-year UI student, also participated in the fad and noticed that not everyone seemed as sincere about it as they should have.

“Sometimes, when people participate and don’t know what it’s for, or they do it because everybody else is doing it, it takes away the power because they’re not actually spreading the message,” Conrad said. “They’re just dumping a bucket of water on their head because it’s a cool thing right now. Having the meaning behind it helps spread the message, so when you’re not doing that, it’s just pointless.”

There is also the worry that people are losing the meaning when they do not mention how USC’s M.I.N.D. Club is also trying to raise money for the cause. Rachel Young, an associate professor at the UI, brought up how mental health is such a large issue without any specific organization to rally the energy created by the challenge. Oftentimes, it can become difficult when people view it as a trend to remember to return to the Instagram page and donate if they can.

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“Mental health is a much different type of issue that touches a lot of people directly, but there’s not one out-letter organization to harness some of the attention raised through the ice bucket challenge,” Young said.

This was also noticed when comparing the USC trend to the Ice Bucket Challenge’s origin. Many people are concerned about how USC decided to reuse this challenge specifically. It went viral for the first time in 2014, as it was meant to raise awareness for the fatal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mostly referred to as ALS.

Just over ten years ago, it started with three men who were all diagnosed with the disease: Pat Quinn, Anthony Senerchia, and Pete Frates. Unfortunately, they have passed away in recent years, but they heavily impacted the cause. At the time, the ALS Association raised $115 million within six weeks, according to ALS United North Carolina’s website.

“One of the interesting things about the ALS challenge is even though it started as grassroots, there is one flagship organization that focuses on research and awareness for ALS. They could capitalize, and with their funding and channels, help promote and capture this energy around this viral challenge,” Young said.

Resurfacing and rebranding the challenge for this new cause has proved insensitive to some online, mainly because there are still so many people afflicted with ALS who don’t have a cure. One Instagram content creator, Brooke Eby, recently spoke about the challenge in an article for Today.

Ebay, also diagnosed with ALS, faced backlash for voicing her opinion about the challenge being reused after posting a video on April 21.

This caused many people to get angry with her, later leading her to explain in another video just a few days later about how she believes there should be a way for both of these causes to gain the attention they need without having to steal challenges from one another.

Trends like this one become quick trends for many social media users, but they are real-life issues for those who struggle with diagnoses of ALS or mental health.

“A viral challenge is meant to die down, and then the next viral challenge is going to take its place, and that cycle can happen really quickly,” Young said.

For more information about either cause or to donate, visit the ALS Association’s website or USC M.I.N.D.’s Instagram.