Disclaimer: Some spoilers for “The Circle.” If you haven’t watched it, go do that and come back.

The reality show “The Circle” displays all of the follies and miscommunications of social media in real time among a group of strangers secluded to their rooms. These strangers can only communicate through a social media app called The Circle. Typical reality show conflicts arise, but the show also displays real heart when contestants let go of their social media charade and reveal their true selves.

When contestants are sentimental on “The Circle,” the impact is real. The power of these sentimental moments is due to the superficiality surrounding them. Contestants are constantly manipulating each other and posturing through their profile pictures and chat rooms.

An example of sentimentality is when one contestant, Miranda, tells another, Joey, about lacking a family and being in and out of foster care during her childhood. This comes after a chat room filled with superficial flirting where nothing of substance or reality was being discussed. It becomes real once they start discussing Joey’s family.

Miranda’s vulnerability allows Joey and the audience to sympathize immediately with Miranda on a genuine level, not a social media level. The show, although not clear at first, is truly concerned with real interaction. It is the social media posturing which eventually brings out the importance of true human interaction, or at least that seems to be what the show wants to portray.

Kissing in reality shows is a tired trope. “Jersey Shore” specialized in drunken, sloppy kissing. Furthermore, the “Bachelor” franchise focuses the show entirely on affection. Despite ending with monogamous love, the Bachelor or Bachelorette usually ends up kissing all thirty of the contestants. Reality shows have desensitized viewers to the power of the visual kiss. The Circle reestablishes its power.

It does this through heightening the stakes of face-to-face interaction. These types of interactions are inherent in normal reality TV, but “The Circle’s” restraint in allowing face-to-face interaction increases the tension. This is especially true because contestants can only meet another person after they have been blocked off, or kicked off, the show by the group’s influencers. This leaves the blocked contestant to confront someone—oftentimes the person they’ve had beef with or the influencer who blocked them.

Joey and Miranda, yet again, have a sentimental interaction. Miranda confronts him after he blocks her from The Circle. However, the tension is broken once they talk about their true feelings for each other. They drop the charade of social media and, instead, focus on the deeper connection they’ve made. At the end of their discussion, they share a kiss. This is the first and only kiss in a season which spans twelve episodes. The impact of vulnerability is real.

It remains to be seen if the sentimentality will remain in a new season with new contestants. Will contestants take advantage of this angle in order to gain the trust of the others? These sentimental moments often resulted in strong alliances that lasted to the end. The cynic in me wonders if it will become a strategy for future contestants.

It’s up to the contestant themselves to live with the choices they make while interacting with strangers. It’s up to the viewers to reflect on their own interactions and choices on social media. Are they being their true selves or not? There are consequences for both.

True Dabill can be reached at dabi7280@stthomas.edu.