How Peer Pressure Guilts People Into Charity

If you’ve done the ice bucket challenge, it’s probably because another person nominated you to do it. And maybe you did it out of the goodness of your heart, or maybe you did it because you didn’t want to shell out $100 to charity.

There’s no doubt that the viral trend has raised millions of dollars and an immeasurable amount of awareness of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, but it’s also becoming clear that peer-pressure is a growing part of charity –- especially in the age of social media. Facebook friends post links to Kickstarter and CaringBridge pages, urging each other to donate to the latest cause, or give a few bucks to a family impacted by tragedy.