Adults Pose As High School Students to Learn About Teens Today in 'Undercover High'
A new documentary show on A&E is sending seven adults back in high school to relive the experience. What these overaged high schoolers found was a whole new environment, unlike the one during their time, with a lot of new challenges facing teens today.
"Undercover High" follows seven adults who attempt to blend in for half a year in the classes of Highland Park HighSchool in Topeka, Kansas. While posing as typical students, these young adults get first-hand experience at what it's like to be a teenager today.
High school is a large part of the American consciousness as a society and continues to grow at an astounding rate, as A&E TV explained. Around 16 million students are now attending high school classes, and contrary to what most adults may think, each generation of high schoolers are more different from each other than what most would realize.
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It's certainly a culture shock for the undercover students, even with some of them as young as 21 years old. Five years since graduation is already enough to put a gap between their daily life back then and what teens experience today, as Business Insider points out.
Social media, the use of cellphones, and online presence have completely changed the high school scene. With the constant connectivity comes constant peer pressure, as undercover participant Shane Feldman shared.
"The kinds of challenges that I experienced in high school along with my peers are now 24/7 issues because of technology, computers, cellphones, and social media," he noted.
"There's no real escape," he added, as he and the other undercover adults see how teens are constantly on their phones now, even in class. The pressure to uphold an acceptable social media image is greater than ever, as a result.
"Undercover High" continues on A&E TV on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 10 p.m. EST.
