The latest social media craze of uploading a bare faced 'selfie' has recently taken over the internet. Women all over the world are uploading a bare face photo of themselves and donating £3 to cancer research by texting BEAT to 70007. The idea is then to tag a few friends so they do the same, etc.
The initial reaction from a minority was one filled with negativity (as there always is), but there's no doubt that this latest trend has led to a significant increase in the funds raised for cancer research despite the instigation of the trend not coming from a cancer research charity. The initial cause was to lower the age of smear testing after the latest news of a young female who passed away after being denied a smear test. Click here to read the full story. However, Cancer research UK has noted an increase in funds of £2,000,000 due to the #NoMakeUpSelfie trend.
However, there will always be a minority of those who upload their picture for their own vanity. Are we as a society becoming more concerned with how we look rather than the major issues people face every day? There's no doubt the majority of those joining this latest trend have the cause close to heart and are doing what they can to keep that in mind and act on it...but is it enough for those others to simply post their photo to try and make themselves appear to be doing good?
Baring your face to the whole world via the internet can be a daunting thing to do, however, it seems this isn't being appreciated and the 'haters' are more concerned about how society is moving on in the way we raise funds for charity. Whilst traditional methods of fundraising involve the person needed to put a lot of effort in to achieve their goal and gain sponsors, or involve a physical and face to face interaction, the online campaigns still achieve the fundraising needed. Is the method important as long as it's an honest one?
The sheer volume of responses to this latest trend is definitely the mark of a milestone showing how technological advances are changing the way the world works.
There's no way to avoid technology on a day to day basis, so is there an issue with utilising this online access to the world wide public? It opens up another avenue for individuals to become lazy, but also, it's a great source of widening people's knowledge and understanding of the world around them, and bringing major issues to light.
So, is the negative response from the minority the right one?
More importantly: Will this campaign pave the way in which funds are now raised, and cause traditional good deed methods forgotten?
You decide.