I'll be honest, I follow Total Frat Move, or TFM for short, on Twitter. I read the articles and one-liners they post, and I laugh about it. It's quality time-wasting material. However, what many people, especially high schoolers, don't realize is that more often than not, it's satire. The satire isn't as blatant as The Onion or ClickHole, but it is meant to give sensationalized perspectives of Greek life. While there is an element of truth behind some of these stories, they are not meant to give an actual representation of what being in a fraternity is about. At the very least they only represent a small fraction of houses. I feel that the satire is oftentimes very subtle, so it will only be picked up by people who are actually involved in Greek life. But to many outside of it, especially those in high school, it will do one of two things:
1. Turn them against the idea of fraternities.
2. Give them an unrealistic expectation of fraternities.
Both of these outcomes are bad for the future of fraternities and Greek life. For people that have negative views of Greek life inherently, this website just adds more fuel to the fire. If they have just started freshman year, this would make many potential brothers and leaders overlook Greek life. While it's not for everyone, you never want to alienate yourself from a group of people, especially if the only reason is that one of you wears letters and the other doesn't. Granted, I don't know how TFM affected recruitment numbers, if it did at all, but I can't imagine that it didn't cause anyone not to rush.
On the flip side, some people who read TFM regularly could end up taking it too seriously, especially those that start reading it at such a young age. I have seen kids that are no older than 14 wearing a "Back to Back World War Champs" tank top and bright blue Chubbies, both of which can be purchased through links on TFM's site.
I was riding the train one day when I heard a high schooler, also wearing that tank and Chubbies combo, make fun of a stranger for wearing cargos. When I asked him what grade he was in, he tried to convince me that he was in this or that house at the University of Alabama. His buddy, who was laughing right next to him still had braces. These are the kids that will eventually get to college and personify every bad "frat guy" stereotype that fraternities everywhere are trying to fight.
I'm not saying that TFM should be taken off the internet, or that they should change their ways. They clearly have a targeted audience and they are very successful at appealing to them. It's also impossible to ensure that high-schoolers don't read it or take it the wrong way, and I doubt a disclaimer on the front page would change anything. It's not like I'm going to stop reading TFM either, because it can be funny. We're just going to have to deal with the two extremes it creates and take steps toward knowing the difference between satire and accurate storytelling.
