"Social media is a mirage"

Yesterday evening I attended an hour-long discussion with LGBTQ+ representative Munroe Bergdorf.

As a transgender homosexual woman, Bergdorf has much to tell us about her daily experience of navigating today's society. She talked of self-care and surviving whilst baing apart from the white, cisgendered, heterosexual 'elite'. I found her talk thought-provoking and incredibly powerful.

Many of us deal with our own struggles and Bergdorf made sure to make everyone feel included. The audience at her talk was "one of the most diverse I have ever spoken to," she said.

She covered a large variety of topics. The one that resonated most with me was her statement that "Social media is a mirage." This came during her discussion of her mental health and her teenage experience of body dysmorphia before she transitioned. It's so easy to be sucked into the lie that is 'Social Media', especially on apps where everyone's goal is to make their lives look flawless unlike their day-to-day reality. This has led many people unstable mental health. Some who I know have had to take deliberate breaks from social media to allow themselves to heal.

This topic seemed to really hit home with the majority of the audience, as the atmosphere in the lecture theatre was thick with personal reflection - as well as awe for Munroe Bergdorf.
 

Jordan Warwick