Dear Knights,
Someone comes to knock on your front door; you don’t know who it is, so you don’t answer. A person comes up to you in the park and tries to talk to you; you walk away. A random number calls your cellphone; you decide to let it go to voicemail.

“Don’t talk to strangers.” “Stay away from people you don’t know.” “Don’t answer the phone unless you know who it is.” “Strangers are bad.”

“But hey, having a staring contest with a stranger is good for you.”

What?

Yes, you read that correctly! In this day and age, having a staring contest with a stranger is good for you, it’s socially acceptable, and it’s fun. Staring contests with your friends or people you know is so last month. Instead of gazing into your friends eyes, travel across the country and find a stranger in the park and just stare at them. Until they flinch, you keep staring and making funny faces so you win.

If you would rather not travel across the country to have a staring contest with a stranger then download the new app, Flinch. The user will FaceTime either one of their Facebook friends or will “meet a new friend” and have a staring contest with a stranger. In a countdown from 10, the opponent’s face will appear and the first person to “flinch” loses the game.

When I first heard about this app, I thought it was outrageous and will never catch on. I thought people would not want to connect with random people from across the world, but I guessed wrong.

Flinch is HUGE with the younger generation and especially at North Penn. Watching my friends trying to keep a straight face against a stranger is hilarious.

I might have cried laughing a couple times.

Anyway, the funny part about this weird app is that you never know who’s going to show up on your screen. And you have to keep a straight face.

I don’t know how people come up with these apps. Staring with a stranger… that’s creepy and that’s how most teenagers are spending their time. It’s funny, but weird. Mostly weird.

Sincerely,

Siena