Kids don’t just react to technology; they react to a whole bunch of things, including viral videos. As such, The Fine Bros. latest video, “Kids React to the Ice Bucket Challenge,” asked a selection of young ‘uns to put in their two cents about the aforementioned Ice Bucket Challenge. And you know what? They’ve actually got some pretty astute observations about the whole thing.
Unlike many of the other “Kids React” videos we’ve covered, the test subjects this time round know immediately what they're seeing: They’ve heard about it from their friends; someone did it at their school; they’ve seen it on Instagram, YouTube, and the rest of the Internet; and so on and so forth. Some of the younger kids don’t know what ALS is; a lot of them do, though, so hoorah for the well-informed kids of this generation. They seem to enjoy some of the celebrity ones (hi there, One Directioners), although most of them can’t identify George W. Bush on sight. Also, they hate Justin Bieber as much as us older folk do — which is quite a feat, given that a lot of them are the age of the Biebs’ target demographic. Oh, how the mighty have fallen!
So what do they think about the Ice Bucket Challenge? Most of them have the same mindset a lot of us do: It’s a good cause, but it’s also a little dumb. One girl brings up the water wastage issue (although I think Neil Gaiman and Matt Damon both came up with excellent solutions to this problem); they’re also a little skeptical of some of the celebrity challenges. If it seems like the person taking it is doing it more for attention than to contribute to the cause, the kids are much less forgiving.
They’ve also got some pretty solid thoughts about why the Ice Bucket Challenge works, though: The dumping of ice and water on someone’s head is what’s gotten it so much attention. Sure, it’s a stunt — but it gets the job done because it makes it exciting. One of the older girls also makes the comment that not everyone can afford to donate $100 (“I’m a kid, I don’t have $100!”) — but those who can’t donate can at least do the challenge to spread awareness and bring the numbers up, so that someone who can afford it can donate later on down the line.
The best part? The Fine Bros. told each of the kids they interviewed for this video that they’d donate $100 for them if they took the challenge. 12 of ‘em said yes, so $1,200 went to the ALS Association. I’d call that a win!
Take a watch here:
Images: Gif Boom
