Austin, Texas
On May 16 at 1:16 p.m., a appeared on Facebook. It showed high school sophomore Kelsey Russell and her friends sitting in the library of Austin鈥檚 Bouldin High, talking through an online quiz titled 鈥淎re You Ready to Lose Your Virginity?鈥�
Two days later, as Russell curled her hair before a Friday night date with a football player named Daniel, she posted a to Instagram.
And the following Monday, another Facebook appeared, showing a table outside Bouldin High during lunchtime. As Russell recounted her first time having sex, her friends worried that Daniel might have used the social media app Snapchat to share pictures with his friends.
鈥淚 hope you checked the sheets,鈥� a girl told Russell. 鈥淏ecause if you bled, then he definitely Snapped it. It鈥檚 like a trophy for them.鈥�
Together, the videos have been viewed over 400,000 times. Russell鈥檚 Instagram post got more than 3,100 likes.
But here鈥檚 the catch:
Kelsey Russell isn鈥檛 a real person, and there鈥檚 no such school as Bouldin High.
Both are fictional creations of a new teen drama called . Produced in partnership with Facebook, the show blends earnest storytelling, an innovative new format, and sometimes-graphic and sexually explicit dialogue to authentically depict the role of social media in teenagers鈥� lives. SKAM Austin also further blurs the line between fake and real, unfolding via snippets of social media content that pop up alongside the posts of viewers鈥� real-life friends. To follow along, the show鈥檚 fans鈥攋ust like its characters鈥攈ave to go down the digital rabbit hole, hopping from platform to platform in the hopes of finding out what鈥檚 really happening.
Media-literacy experts say schools should pay close attention to SKAM Austin. They describe it as both as a potential teaching tool and a cautionary tale about where social media is headed.
As a piece of popular culture, observers say, the show hits its mark, reflecting the modern high school experience in a way that actual high school students find relatable and true. And SKAM鈥檚 success is made possible by its unique uses of new technology to forge deep emotional connections with fans鈥攖he same strategy used by the 1930鈥檚 radio drama 鈥榃ar of the Worlds鈥� and the television show 鈥楤ig Brother鈥� during prior generations.
But the show also has a potential dark side.
Some experts worry the boundary-blurring new narrative format could further undermine teens鈥� already-shaky ability to figure out what鈥檚 true online.
And they鈥檙e particularly troubled by Facebook鈥檚 involvement. Despite being for fueling the rise of fake news, and despite promises to crack down on fake accounts, the company is fighting hard to preserve SKAM Austin鈥檚 鈥渞ealistic illusion,鈥� allowing fictitious Instagram personas and supporting contracts that forbid the show鈥檚 actors from promoting SKAM using their real names.
The result is a modern-day hall of mirrors.
Given the stakes, experts say, educators have no choice but to follow their students in.
鈥淏y being so immersive and authentic, SKAM Austin is actually begging a much larger question,鈥� said Amanda Lenhart, the deputy director of the Better Life Lab at the think tank New America. 鈥淚s there anything that teens can trust?鈥�
Art Imitating Life
The real-life Bouldin High is , located at 5601 Manchaca Road in South Austin.
SKAM Productions, LLC paid the Austin Independent School District $4,000 per day to film at Crockett last spring, according to a obtained via a public-records request.
District officials declined to grant 澳门跑狗论坛 access to the school, saying they don鈥檛 want to be associated with the show.
So on a blistering August afternoon during the first week of the new school year, a reporter watched from the street as real Crockett students poured out of the building. Phones in hand, they waited for rides and hung out on the picnic tables in front of the school.
It looked very much like a typical scene from SKAM Austin.
As the crowd thinned, 15-year-old Kayla Rios and a friend fiddled with a guitar, killing time in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center.
鈥淚 love that show,鈥� Rios said of SKAM Austin.
The Crockett sophomore said she remembered when the show was being filmed at her school, and near her grandma鈥檚 house.
But when a scene from SKAM Austin first appeared on her social media feed, Rios still questioned whether she was watching life at an actual high school.
鈥淚 mean, of course, I knew, like, I go to that school, so obviously it鈥檚 not,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut they make it seem really real.鈥�
The brainchild of screenwriter and producer , SKAM (pronounced 鈥榮kom,鈥� the Norwegian word for 鈥渟hame鈥�) debuted in Norway in 2015. Much of the show鈥檚 action consists of friends messaging each other鈥檚 phones and checking each other鈥檚 social media accounts. But SKAM鈥檚 richness comes from its characters鈥� struggles to navigate a world in which everyone has multiple personas, shame spreads virally, and it鈥檚 hard to figure out who you really are.
In 2016, television producer Simon Fuller (of 鈥楢merican Idol鈥� fame) purchased the show鈥檚 English-language rights. He then partnered with Andem and Facebook Watch, the social media giant鈥檚 new video platform.
SKAM Austin debuted on April 24.
Over a black screen, a teen girl narrated the opening line: 鈥淪ometimes, I wish I didn鈥檛 have this need to perform all the time.鈥�
The show鈥檚 plot loosely tracks the relationship of Bouldin sophomores Megan and Marlon. The climax comes when Megan鈥檚 infidelity is exposed via an anonymous Instagram account dedicated to spreading rumors about Bouldin students.
鈥淟iterally, the whole school is talking about you,鈥� Megan鈥檚 nemesis taunts her.
Wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a large red 鈥楢,鈥� the teen holes up in her room at home. Her parents, previously just disembodied voices arguing off-screen, appear. They confront Megan about a call from the school鈥檚 principal. On top of getting into a fight at school, she has failed to turn in a paper on 鈥楾he Scarlet Letter鈥�.
Facebook downplayed the idea that viewers might mistakenly think the show is real, citing its music cues, scene cuts, and slow motion effects.
Despite her initial hesitation, Kayla Rios, the real-life Crockett sophomore, agreed.
But does the show accurately reflect life at Crockett?
鈥淥h yeah,鈥� Rios said. 鈥淵ou can relate to it really easily.鈥�
鈥楾ransmedia鈥� Storytelling
Such reactions are a clear win for Andem and Facebook, both of whom declined to be interviewed for this story.
鈥淥ur goal is to create immersive experiences through Facebook Watch which allow viewers to experience video in a whole new way,鈥� a Facebook spokeswoman said in a written response to questions. 鈥淎dvancing a show鈥檚 storyline through social posts, texts, and teaser drops is not standard practice, and SKAM fans have really responded well to it.鈥�
Researchers call it 鈥渢ransmedia鈥� storytelling. SKAM Austin is probably the fullest, most successful example of the approach in the United States to date.
But the underlying idea is hardly new.
There鈥檚 a long history of new technologies being used to make stories feel more authentic, intimate, and relatable, say researchers such as , a lecturer in digital media at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia. There鈥檚 also a long history of backlash to such new narrative forms.
In 18th-century Europe, for example, popular novels such as 鈥楾he Sorrows of Young Werther鈥� that 鈥渞eading fever鈥� might corrupt the minds and morals of fans unable to withstand the immersive power of fictionalized reality.
More recently, the YouTube series 鈥榣onelygirl15' presented itself as the video diary of a real teenage girl, gaining millions of followers before being .
In the current age, Abidin said, social media is often used to make audiences feel like they are part of the action. Fans comment on their favorite actors鈥� Instagram accounts, reimagine their favorite shows on Tumblr, and use Reddit to discuss the 鈥淓aster eggs鈥� their favorite writers and directors hide in their work. For content producers, it鈥檚 free promotion.
So what makes SKAM Austin different, and why should educators care?
Abidin and others say it鈥檚 the way Facebook mirrors and co-opts those previously organic forms of fan participation. By intentionally leaving 鈥渂read crumb鈥� trails that entice viewers to engage across the multiple social media platforms the company owns, Facebook aims to keep fans locked into its own ecosystem, discouraging them from finding outside perspectives.
In other words, SKAM Austin is another example of Facebook doing what Facebook does: Taking users鈥� online behaviors, and turning them into a product that serves its business interests.
鈥淭he feedback loop between Facebook Watch and the characters鈥� social media personas is scary and sinister,鈥� Abidin said.
鈥淚t gives the impression that social media is real life, and it seeks to exclude any space for moments of doubt.鈥�
A 鈥楻ealistic Illusion鈥�
Indeed, 澳门跑狗论坛鈥檚 efforts to pull back the veil on the show were met with resistance.
Interview requests sent to several of the show鈥檚 cast members yielded this reply from 18-year-old actor , who plays a SKAM Austin character named Tyler Nunez:
鈥淚鈥檓 not allowed to do interviews pertaining to SKAM temporarily due to my contract. I鈥檇 really love to do this, as it鈥檇 be great to talk about social media鈥檚 influence on kids my age鈥ut the team got back to me and said interviews about the show are still off the table for now.鈥�
That was quickly followed by an email from a staffer at , Facebook Watch鈥檚 public-relations firm.
鈥淗i Ben! One of the actors just let me know that 澳门跑狗论坛 was reaching out for an interview. In order to maintain the realistic illusion, the cast and crew are unfortunately not doing interviews or press. Thanks!鈥�
The Facebook spokeswoman also declined to directly address whether the company is violating its own by allowing the creation of false personas and fictitious histories on Instagram, a platform that Facebook owns. The standards explicitly forbid 鈥渃reating inauthentic profiles鈥� on Facebook itself, although Instagram allows users to create multiple accounts.
And the spokeswoman confirmed that Facebook itself 鈥済uided鈥� the creation of SKAM Austin鈥檚 online fan community, building fan pages that appear to be organic and paying social media influencers to promote the show.
Already, Abidin said, such strategies are creating new challenges for young people trying to make sense of the many layers of identity and truth found on social media.
Many teens actually have learned that all information from social media can鈥檛 be trusted at face value, she said, and many teens actually do work hard to verify what they see across multiple sources.
But now young people can follow that process, and feel like they鈥檝e drawn their own independent conclusions, all without ever having left a fictional universe created by one of the largest corporations on the planet.
It dramatically raises the stakes for schools already struggling to keep up.
鈥淪KAM is a great case study for what authenticity means in the social media age,鈥� Abidin said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 mirroring what鈥檚 happening in real life, and the increasing difficulty of corroborating facts.鈥�
Teaching Media Literacy
The good news for those with such concerns is that teenagers remain ingenious, and eager to do plenty of boundary-pushing of their own.
Take, for example, Kayla Rios.
Like many fans, Rios didn鈥檛 stop at watching scenes of SKAM Austin on Facebook, or following the Instagram accounts of the show鈥檚 characters. She also tracked down the personal social media accounts of all the actors.
鈥淚 followed them, too,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in what their actual lives are like, rather than just on the show.鈥�
Media-literacy experts say teachers could use such strategies as a jumping-off point for rich classroom conversations.
But most schools aren鈥檛 there yet.
Officials from the 81,000-student Austin school district, for example, declined to talk on the record about SKAM Austin, just as they refused to grant access to Crockett High.
They did, however, allow 澳门跑狗论坛 to observe at nearby James Bowie High.
On the third day of school, all Bowie鈥檚 9th graders were handed new district-issued Chromebooks, then sent back to their English classes. There, teachers delivered a 鈥渄igital citizenship鈥� lesson that mixed discussion prompts (鈥淲hat are some strategies you鈥檝e used to help limit your distractions?鈥�) with YouTube videos of TED Talks (鈥淲hy Our Screens Make Us Less Happy.鈥�)
In general, the teens seemed receptive to the message that screens and social media come with downsides.
But in interviews, they mostly described the district鈥檚 information as old news.
When it comes to the actual role social media plays in their day-to-day lives, older Bowie students said, the reality is teenagers have mostly been left to fend for themselves.
鈥淔or people that didn鈥檛 grow up with [social media] like we did, it鈥檚 hard to understand,鈥� said Stephen Do, a 17-year old senior. 鈥淚t bleeds into who you are, and it becomes an extension of the character you want other people to see.鈥�
Does that make it hard to know what to trust?
鈥淭he problem with social media is it leaves so much to the imagination,鈥� Do said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always bits and pieces, and you have to try to put it together, and that causes problems.鈥�
That鈥檚 a pretty good summary of the reality SKAM Austin depicts, which is why many observers consider it so powerful and timely.
But Do鈥檚 take is also a pretty good summary of the show鈥檚 potential consequences, which is why many media-literacy experts say that it鈥檚 important to watch what happens next.
In an age when an anonymous Instagram account can upend your entire life鈥攁nd a tech company can fudge its own rules to help create a mirror image of your own school鈥攚hat do big concepts like authenticity, identity, and truth even mean?
SKAM Austin, recently renewed for a second season, could be a powerful tool to help adults be part of those conversations with the teenagers in their lives.
But as yet, there鈥檚 little sign that either Facebook or America鈥檚 schools are ready to seize that opportunity.
