How the ice bucket challenge shaped today's internet

The 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge, a viral stunt for charity, has resurfaced as a mental health campaign, prompting reflection on its lasting impact. This challenge, where people dumped icy water on themselves and dared others to do the same, significantly shaped today's online landscape. It laid the groundwork for viral memes, following strangers online, and the evolution of social media platforms. Facebook, now Meta, played a key role in engineering the Ice Bucket Challenge's virality. The company's autoplay video feature and trending topic lists fueled the challenge's spread. This demonstrated the potential of Facebook as a video-sharing platform and a hub for discussing trending topics. The Ice Bucket Challenge proved that users would engage with videos on Facebook, even from strangers. Today, only a small percentage of user time on Facebook and Instagram involves content from friends. This shift highlights how deliberate decisions by tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg have shaped the online world.