Vox reports on decline of viral generosity from early 2010s internet
6 reported
According to a Vox article, the ice bucket challenge of 2014 and other viral giving trends of the early 2010s represented a peak of online generosity that has since declined. The article states that platforms like Facebook once had potential as a marketplace of ideas, but the social media environment changed in the mid-2010s. It reports that fewer Americans have chosen to give to charity each year for much of the past decade, and most billionaires appear to be giving away a diminishing share of their fortunes. The Giving Pledge, launched in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, has lost much of its steam, according to the article. The piece attributes the shift to a more fractured internet and an attention crisis, rather than a giving crisis. It notes that viral nostalgia for the early 2010s may indicate a pendulum swing back toward earnestness.
What’s reported
The ice bucket challenge in summer 2014 raised money for ALS research and involved participants like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Justin Bieber, David Lynch, and Donald Trump.
The Giving Pledge, launched in 2010, aimed to convince ultra-wealthy individuals to donate at least half their fortunes; at its peak, about one in seven American billionaires signed.
Asha Curran, co-founder of GivingTuesday in 2012, said the early social media environment was not an existential threat to mental health and democracy as it is now.
For much of the past decade, fewer Americans have given to charity each year, and most billionaires appear to be giving away a diminishing share of their fortunes.
The Giving Pledge has lost steam and come under attack from techno-cynics like Peter Thiel, according to the article.
Scott Harrison, founder of Charity: Water, said fundraising has become difficult in recent years because giving is "not on trend."
Key figures
Bill Gates
Melinda French Gates
Warren Buffett
Mark Zuckerberg
Elon Musk
Asha Curran (co-founder of GivingTuesday)
Scott Harrison (founder of Charity: Water)
Aaron Dorfman (CEO of National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy)
Peter Thiel
Sources: vox.com
