Charity is good but it’s not about you

So, at the risk of sounding like a complete and utter selfish bitch, I’m here to complain about the latest celebrity craze #WakeUpCall selfie.

If by some miracle this one has managed to pass you by, it’s basically the #NoMakeUpSelfie but this time people are encouraged to post a photo of themselves just after they have woken up.

I’ll let you try and guess what this is in aid of. No cheating. Close down Google.

The point in this exercise is to get people to “wake up” to the situation in Syria. Because if you weren’t already aware of the horrendous violence there, then a picture of Naomi Campbell in her bed will definitely do it for you.

Has this woken you up?

Please don’t think that I believe UNICEF should just leave the children of Syria to it, but surely all these fads are just ego-stroking, PR-boosting, look-at-me publicity attempts?

Take Jeremy Clarkson for example, in an unprecedented crime against nature, he took a #WakeUpCall selfie with Heston Blumenthal.

And if a topless picture of Jeremy Clarkson won’t encourage people to donate to charity, the threat of such a picture might though.

I decided to give a few of these trends a go. Maybe it would help me to appreciate why everyone on my newsfeed insists on doing them all the time. First up I went for the latest, #WakeUpCall selfie.

Unlike many celebrities, I took my photo literally within minutes of waking up, with no touch ups or even a wash to remove last night’s mascara. That may be difficult for you to believe, but it’s true.

The bright flash did not help matters

Now, I can’t say that I felt any more in tune with the plight of Syrian children after taking this photo. As much as I dreaded posting this here for all to see, I do think that pales somewhat in comparison to watching my parents be brutally murdered.

Next up was the #NoMakeUpSelfie, which was a huge phenomenon on social media, but one that I didn’t take part in at the time, as I thought it was stupid. I mean, if you want to get a selfie of me with no make up on, just add me on Snapchat.

What annoyed me most about this one was when people would comment on other selfies congratulating them for being brave when there is nothing at all brave about posing with no make up on.

And lets face it, we all know most of the girls had some form of make up on anyway.

I didn’t feel brave taking this – you’re braver for looking at it

Finally, the most famous of the bunch: The Ice Bucket Challenge. This one I actually did at the time. It was everywhere, and people kept nominating me, and basically I thought it would be a laugh.

In support of MND, there was a little method behind this, in that the way you feel after getting a bucket of ice water chucked over you apparently is a tiny taster of what life with MND is like.

Have a peek at my attempt while I go and hide under a rock somewhere.

Charity is great, and you should always try and donate regularly to causes that you believe in, but you don’t have to show off about it.

These fads turn the attention away from the causes they’re supposed to be helping, and often end up glamorising them when Tom Cruise takes his shirt off or Kate Moss strips down to her bikini.

But it’s no surprise that in today’s narcissistic society we have to make everything about us – even charity.

And I’m not the only one who thinks this way. First year Lea Barbett said: “People focus far more on their own self-portrayal than on the cause.”

While History student George Brock thinks: “Although they do create awareness, they have become more of a means of one’s self-absorbing image than an event for charity.”

Could always go down the more traditional route of a charity single

So next time you see a new charity fad going round in a hashtag, why don’t you just donate the money and then shut up about it?