CM sends four young people to Mark Zuckerberg

Young people’s wellbeing is under pressure, and research points to a clear link with social media. Not because social media is inherently bad, but because it is designed to be addictive. On average, young people spend six hours a day on it – often at the expense of real-life social interactions. And it’s precisely those real connections that are proven to protect mental health. That’s what keeps CM up at night.

So how do you make young people aware of this, and encourage them to improve their mental and social wellbeing? And how do you communicate that without sounding patronising? A TikTok campaign by CM that encourages young people to take action might come across as less convincing.

So, we went with a different approach. Instead of targeting young people, we created something with and for them. One strong idea, four gutsy young people, and you get Make it to Mark: a quest to Silicon Valley, San Francisco, to ask Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in person just how social his social media platforms really are – after first putting the question to a range of Belgian politicians and experts.

The Boring Boys (not actors, not influencers, and anything but boring) are the protagonists of this story. Four young people who dare to ask the questions everyone wants answers to.

Media (digital, radio and print) picked up the story eagerly, without a single euro in paid media. That’s what happens when a brand thinks like a creator rather than an advertiser. Not a message you push, but a story people want to share.

The Boys shared their journey and insights on De Tafel van Tine, one of the most-watched talk shows in Flanders, on Play. They reached 200,000 viewers live in prime time, and several tens of thousands more through on-demand viewing and online snippets on the account of Play.

Fancy some more number crunching? In less than 1 month, we generated more than 240,000 views on Instagram, 75% of which came from non-followers. This points to a strong influx of new audiences. In addition, we achieved 7,500 interactions and a growth of 800 followers. The largest audience groups were 18–24-year-olds (49.1%) and 25–34-year-olds (37.7%). Exactly who we were aiming for.

On TikTok, we reached 150,000 views, 11,000 likes and 307 shares, with a growth of 742 followers. Here too, we saw a young audience, with 18–24-year-olds (53.5%) and 25–34-year-olds (30.6%) as the largest groups.

Across both platforms, we organically reached nearly 400,000 views, more than 18,500 interactions and a total growth of 1,542 followers. This confirms that the campaign generated reach, engagement and community growth among an audience that is not easy to reach.

Was it ambitious to try and meet Mark Zuckerberg in person? Absolutely. But the scale of the issue demanded that ambition. Social media algorithms shape what we see, how we feel, and how young people interact, without any real dialogue in return, even though that dialogue is urgently needed.

Today, the conversation needs to focus on responsibility, transparency and the impact of algorithms on young people. And that’s exactly what this project brought to the forefront, particularly among an audience that is highly resistant to traditional advertising. Among stakeholders and policymakers, the debate is still very much alive.

The constant stream of content is putting increasing pressure on young people and often leads to fewer genuine connections. This is about mental wellbeing versus social isolation. And that’s precisely why this ‘campaign’ matters so much to CM.

The big question, of course, was whether the Boys would manage to get hold of Zuck. Unfortunately not. In their final attempt, they made it as far as his driveway, where they were turned away by his private security. The Boys find it striking how difficult it is to hold him accountable. ‘His company impacts the lives of millions, yet as a ‘user’, it’s virtually impossible to call him to account.’

To continue their mission of helping young people become more resilient on social media, the Boring Boys also produced a documentary, commissioned by CM, about their journey to the US and the lead-up to it. It premieres at the end of May and will later be made available to the public.

You can follow the Boring Boys’ adventures on Instagram and TikTok (@boring_boys__). Spoiler alert: they’re not done yet…