MTV is currently airing a show titled “If You Really Knew Me” (yes, I watch MTV reality shows). The show chronicles what happens on Challenge Day, a day when a team of speakers comes to a high school campus in an effort to break down the walls between cliques and inspire the student body to come together to create change at their schools, uniting the student body. There are tons of tears as they go through the program to discover that, at the end of the day, Jocks go through many of the same things as the Emos and the Homecoming Queen isn’t too different from the Band Geek.
There is this one part of the program where everyone stands on one side of a line and one of the Challenge Day leaders announces a statement; if the statement applies to you, you cross the line. For example, you might be asked to cross the line if you have ever:
- been ridiculed for your weight
- lived in a household where alcoholism was a problem
- been kicked out of your house
After you cross, you look around and see that you’re probably not alone for what obstacle(s) you have in your life. Or you might see that your friend might be going through hard times and you had no idea. Every show always includes a revelation or two about “I never knew so-and-so dealt with that!” The whole idea of the exercise is to open up the students’ eyes to see their classmates crossing the lines and understand that everyone might be hiding something.
There’s always a lot of talk about how society is a lot more open now thank to social media sites; some would argue that people are too open with what they share. But I still bet that most of us do hold some stuff private and don’t share everything with our online circle. Whether it’s insecurity or just plain embarrassment (what do you think is holding me back from “Liking” Cougar Town?), if someone took a snapshot of all of your personal social media profiles, would they really know the whole you? They might be able to pigeonhole you into a clique like back in high school (adult versions like Hardcore Liberal, Party Girl, Pseudo-intellectual) but I think there is always going to be room for a “What?!” moment in each of us. I know that my News Feed is typically filled with happy news; I usually don’t read about someone’s darkest moments on Facebook. And would I want to?
No need for revelations but do you agree that you don’t share everything and might still be able to surprise someone about your life even if they’re your [Facebook] friend?
Tags: challenge day, mtv, open, profiles, sharing, Social Media
I would definitely say that Facebook, Twitter and other soial media websites only paint a very small picture of a total person. Everyone has those aspects of their life that are kept private. So while social media is great fun, do not think you know or fully understand anyone based on their status updates.
Social media has definitely changed the way we interact with other people, but it hasn’t changed the human condition itself. People still face the same problems and have the same needs and wants that as they did 60 years ago. I don’t know that I agree that the ‘challenge day’ project is only possible because people have become more open through social media. Social media has definitely changed the way we communicate and share information, but not who we are as human beings. I think that the effectiveness of ‘challenge day’ has a lot more to do with the fact that the people running the program are really good at what they do. They to speak to students in an open, honest way and tap into their desire to fit in.
Also, haha…
You don’t really like Couger Town, do you?
Oh, I wasn’t saying that we’re open because of Social Media. It was more that even though we are open because of SM, we still hide a lot of stuff. Unless we’re really challenged to reveal everything, like in a Challenge Day, we keep a lot hidden.
And yes, I watch Cougar Town! Don’t knock it ’til you watch it! I also watch Friday Night Lights to keep my TV karma in check.