It’s been said that it takes approximately seven seconds to form an opinion on someone based on physical appearance.

A recent social experiment done by Coca-Cola in the Middle East went viral. It consisted of six strangers chatting in the dark and was aimed at teaching people to remove labels.

The six strangers were asked to describe each other. What happens when you can’t see the person and can only base your opinion on what they say and what they sound like?

I love the experiment, and encourage you to watch ‘What happens when six strangers meet in a dark room’. You may be wondering if anyone actually got it right.

The results are amazing. You may not always realise it, but you are constantly scanning the area, deciding whether you might or might not want to meet someone, based purely on what they look like.

Things like clothing, posture, body language and general appearance all help you form an opinion, based on your own frame of reference. Labels are for lifeless objects and not for people, right?

What a different world this would be if we were more broad-minded and patient. Although, one’s behaviour and appearance clearly confirm a stereotypical label, you can decide not to do so.

I hope that after reading this and watching the video that we accept each meeting, with a new individual as an opportunity to right the wrong of labelling people and break this cycle.

Refrain from labelling. How about we simply consider people we meet for the first time as someone I haven’t gotten to know well, yet?