A social experiment

WELCOME to the future – the first social media reality show. Yes, why bother with the pretence of learning a new skill or finding love?

This gets straight down to what contestants really want – they are competing for social media fame.

Billed as the next addictive show to obsess over, we will watch a group of strangers communicate and compete through a specially designed, voice-activated social media platform called The Circle.

And we all know what the protective barrier of social media can do to a person – it can make them braver, but also harsher. It also means people can be anyone they want to be. Stick in a profile picture of a blonde beauty or buff gym bunny and who would know otherwise?

Broadcasting talents Alice Levine and Maya Jama host this popularity contest, which starts with the players creating their profiles.

Every detail is crucial. Oh and there’s also the small matter of the chance to win up to £50,000, as well as some Instagram followers, we imagine.

We’re told The Circle enables players to chat, make friends, break friends, argue, compete against each other in physical and mental challenges, flirt and maybe even fall in love.

They can also rate each other, with the least popular players at risk of being ‘blocked’ from the game. Only when they leave will they find out who they’ve been interacting with in a grand unmasking.

This sounds simultaneously brilliant and terrifying.

Now if only there was an emoji for that...