Social media has been around for less than 20 years and the data and analysis surrounding it is still sparse, despite 93% of adults in the world being on at least one social media platform. In this episode, Afia, Branavy and I discuss the relevancy of and impact it has upon on our lives, those around us and the implications it could have on future generations of young individuals. Branavy is a British Tamil Sri Lankan and studied medicine at UCL, she currently works as a junior doctor for the NHS, and as part of her integrated BSc in psychology, she completed her dissertation on visual crowding. Afia is a British Bangladeshi and studied International Relations at the University of East Anglia, she won an election from Geneva to be the Elected Student Union Ethnic Minority Officer and now currently manages her own successful blog, whilst employed as a civil servant. As we've grown up and watched social media become such a societal juggernaut, we share our personal nuances and experiences whilst using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok, how it can be used for the profound benefit of some and the ways it can unfortunately be harmful and detrimental for the mental and physical health of others. We hope you enjoyed listening as much as we enjoyed recording, thanks for listening to episode 7!

It may be surprising to hear that the prevalence of colourism across communities of colour across the Eastern and Western world remains high, even in the 21st century. Nimalesh is a British Tamil Sri Lankan UCL graduate who works as junior doctor in Watford and currently aspires to be an orthopaedic surgeon. Chris studied politics, sociology and international policy change at Warwick University, he spent his early years in Nigeria and his formative years in the UK. Jessica is a British Indian pharmacist, she grew up in London and studied at UCL; she currently manages an increasingly popular Instagram page focusing specifically on Indian make-up styles. Together, we explore our deeply personal experiences of colourism and the lessons we've learnt about it from the environments we've been forced to grow up in. As individuals of colours, we each explain how factors such as childhood taunting and the examples set by the fashion industry can influence the views we have on the hue we're born with. And as future parents, we assess how important it is to and how possibly we, as individuals and as a society, could set a better precedent for our kids, allowing future generations of black and brown children to feel comfortable and celebrated in their own skin! Thank you for listening to episode 5!