Whisper teams with VH1 for Couples Therapy

Users can submit their Whisper to have them read out loud, and answered, on the show

When you really think about it, the applications for anonymous sharing app Whisper are extremely broad.  

And by that I mean, it can be used in so many different ways, and to so many different ends.

It can be used to get something off your chest, or to simply make a joke, or to really get to the heart of an issue.

One man, for example, already used the app to document his hours-long, stand-off with the police, possibly saving his own life, and the lives of others, in the process. 

One way it can be used is to get or soilicit advice, without having anyone find out that you are the one who's actually asking the question. We all have embarrassing questions we need the answers to. If we can do that without risking anyone finding out about it, then that's even better.

That' is the idea behind Whisper's partnership with VH1, which the company wrote about in a blog post on Thursday.

The two companies entered into a partnership where fans can submit their Whispers to the reality show Couples Therapy. Each week, the show asks questions regarding relationship issues that are explored on the show.

The submitted Whisper may then be chosen by the show's host, Dr. Jenn, to either be answered in a digital video series, or even on a few episodes of the show itself in the back half of the 10 episode season. 

"On Couples Therapy, the cast regularly shares their own secrets, and this season, we’re inviting fans to join in with Whisper, a free app that allows anyone to share their most private confessions anonymously," VH1 wrote. "So if you’re too shy to reveal your most personal details in therapy or need to vent but don’t have Dr. Jenn’s private number, channel your emotions through Whisper."

The first episode in the digital video series has already been put up online, with the question, "What was the last thing you fought about with your bf/gf?"

Answers included, "He never wants to have sex with me," "Him telling me he had a cry session with he ex-fiancée last night," "He cheated on me. And somehow it was my fault," and "He won't tell other girls that he is in a relationship."

Yikes... good thing these are anonymous! Also, do you notice how all of these answers seem to be about male companions? That's because 70% of Whisper users are female. Of course, with an anonymous site, how do you really know those registering as females are telling the truth?

This is not the first time that Whisper has entered into this type of partnership with a cable network; this past summer it teamed up with MTV for users to submit their own stories to a show called Virgin Territory regarding, you guessed, their virginity, or lack thereof. 

It's no accident that Whisper is choosing channels like MTV and VH1 for partnerships, as they heavily marketed toward young people, who are also the ones most likely to use Whisper. Most of the app's users are between the ages of 18 and 27 years old. 

Something tells me that these types of campaigns would not be quite as successful if they were being run on Fox News or PBS. 

You might be asking yourself if this a positive or a negative thing that young people are asking these questions, to a stranger. And I think you can make the argument either way,

You can say that they'd be better off perhaps talking to someone about these things to someone they know they can trust, and who will give them the time that questions like this really require. All relationship advice I ever got was from people who I knew I could trust and who had my best interests at heart. Was that advice always good advice? No, of course not. But I at least knew that it came from the right place.

The reason I think that this is a good thing, ultimately, is that I also get the feeling that many simply wouldn't ask these questions at all it if it was not anonymous, for obvious reasons. Not everyone has something they think they can trust, or someone to ask at all. So if this the best they can do, then that's fine with me.

What are your thoughts?

(Note: Vator is holding its 4th Annual Splash LA event on Oct. 2 with speakers that include Whisper CEO Michael Heyward and The Honest Company's Jessica Alba and Brian Lee. Register here.). 

Watch the first episode of the digital series below:

(Image source: vh1.com)