Recently, MTV came out with a new show titled Suspect, hosted by Nev Schulman (that guy from Catfish) and iO. The TV series premiered in February on MTV and it is available to be watched both on the MTV website and on Hulu.

Basically, "Suspect" follows the same kind of format as Catfish, where Nev and Io are doing some researching and digging to find out what someone is hiding or keeping a secret from their friends/family. The way it works is someone from around the country contacts the show saying something like, "Hey, my friend is acting weird/I think my friend is hiding something from me/my friend has a secret/etc...can you help me find out what it is?" So, once the show receives the email, Nev and Io set out to meet with the "Truth Seeker" as they call them on the show. The Truth Seeker then explains the situation to the two investigators, and then Nev and Io continue to talk to friends, family members and basically anyone who is connected with the person with the said secret. Not once, until the end when they think they have figured out the secret, do Nev and Io speak to the person in question about what they might be keeping a secret or hiding.

Even though the show may seem interesting on the surface, and it had quite a few episodes that were beneficial for everyone involved, I think that there's an underlying problem here that nobody has yet acknowledged—not even on the show by the producers or hosts themselves. Unfortunately, a lot of the episodes revolve around someone keeping secrets about their sexuality, gender identity, true feelings and even eating disorders. While some of them are important for people to know about (if for nothing else than to help the person with the said secret receive the help and treatment that they need), the show pushes people to reveal a part of themselves and their lives that they maybe weren't actually ready to share.

There are several episodes involving people who are gay and had thus far chosen to keep it a secret from the people around them. Nev and Io roll in, do some digging and some pushing, and then all of a sudden, people are ready to share that part with someone that they hadn't before. While I am happy for people being given the opportunity to come out and be open and honest with people (does TV give people the courage to do something they wouldn't usually do?), I am concerned with the amount of pressure involved in being featured on a TV show that pushes these people to feel like they have to, or need to, reveal themselves and their personal secrets and feelings to people around them.

I believe that people should share the parts of themselves with other people when they are ready, not when they are forced to. It's clear to me that because they hadn't previously shown their friends and families that part of them before Nev and Io showed up that maybe they weren't ready or, what a crazy idea, maybe just didn't really want to or feel like they should. These Secret Keepers don't owe the Truth Seekers anything, regardless of their relationship. If the Secret Keeper is gay, and hadn't yet told the Truth Seeker, then chances are they weren't ready, didn't want to, or honestly didn't even feel the need to.

While I think there are some positive messages in the show "Suspect," such as showing how wonderful being accepted and supported can be, it is also portraying more damaging messages, such as the idea that if you care about someone and you want a relationship to stay strong and connected, you have to be completely honest with them and tell them everything about yourself, even if it isn't any of their business. The show also seems to ignore the fact that maybe people just start being distant and stop being as good of friends because they don't want to be friends anymore. They seem to believe that everyone has to have a secret, that there has to be one definite thing that is making someone distant. Listen, there is nothing wrong with not being friends with someone. There doesn't have to be a reason.

I'm concerned about the kind of message that is being sent through "Suspect" to its viewers. Watching it, I even found myself thinking, "Oh, maybe I should be more open and tell my friends more stuff, because maybe they deserve it? If I don't, will we stop being friends?"

But the answer is no. Even though I care about my friends and family, that doesn't mean that I owe them every secret, every piece of me, 100 percent honesty and openness. Nor do I believe they owe me every answer, secret, and piece of information about themselves. If someone doesn't tell you something about themselves, chances are they probably don't want to, and instead of contacting a TV show to force their admission and secret out into the open, maybe you should show you care by respecting their privacy and their choice to not include you in it.

Suspect is an interesting show—it's full of confrontation, secrets and what the masses would say is juicy drama. But really, it displays a lack of ability for these people to communicate with the ones they love who are in question. It shows that these people, instead of respecting and just being real with their friends and family, would rather contact a national television show and force an answer out than to just step back, respect space, allow that person to come to them when they are ready and to offer altruistic support for whatever that person is going through. It really displays how people's curiosity and need to know absolutely everything can trump just simply caring about someone, regardless of what they might be hiding.