So I sit here, unabashedly listening to the Jonas Brothers album from 2007. You know, the one, with Year 3000 on it? Yeah, you know it. (For Tom’s sake, I will let you know that this is Sabina, community manager, writing. Do you even JoBro, Tom?)
I promise I have a point here.
One of the tips from Dance Floor Theory is that introductions are more effective when there’s a common thread between the two people.
I have noticed that very often, big campus events theme themselves around the “throwback.” I have been to a 90s Senior Night at Fordham, and seen flyers modeled off “All That.” Why? Because we grew up in the 90s, and any mention of our childhood sends us into a tailspin of innocent daydreams and nostalgia. We eat it up. I can guarantee that if I walked into a group of women in their 20s right now and said, “Polly Pocket,” eyes would light up and I would have 3 new besties in a minute.
I cannot count the number of times my friends and I have seriously bonded over old music from our early teens. There is just something about “the good old days” that brings people together, even if their shared experience happened at a time they didn’t know each other yet.
When you’re stuck trying to make a connection, foster conversation between strangers, or planning an event, just remember the 1 thing almost everyone you know on campus has in common – your childhood.
So now that you’re also listening to the 2007 self-titled Jonas Brothers album, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. All I know is that I got a favorite on my tweet about it within 10 seconds. Bam, connection made.
