KEEPING IT REAL - APRIL 3 - 6.55PM - 2019

Is Social Media Ruining Our Lives? - Oxford Martin School - 4.00pm

I’d already made up my mind before even attending this debate what my point of view was (and thus the debate’s narrative didn’t challenge me). What did surprise me was how normal and completely accessible the two speakers were, immediately establishing a rapport with the audience that was refreshingly open. Plus it did no harm that everyone was invited keep their phones ON and tweet using the hashtag #howrude (brilliant). So the first up to argue that social media IS ruining people’s lives was journalist Katherine Ormerod, whose CV of high profile fashion editorships might have suggested her argument would lack a certain conviction (plus she currently boasts 40,000 followers online). However, she was in fact perfect: astonishingly honest, convincing and totally credible. Yes, she had enjoyed a glamorous career that required her, professionally, to use social media to create a fan base who presumably aspired to her life. But as she was keen to point out, it doesn’t matter how many five star restaurants you dine in or how much leg room you enjoy while crossing the Atlantic; if your real life is not in a good place, it’s all a fabrication. And maintaining that deceit can ultimately prove dangerous. A point she pressed though with great sincerity (she is incidentally the author of the book ‘Why Social Media is Ruining Your Life’). Countering her presentation was Julian Baggini, author, co-author and editor of more than 20 books including ‘How the World Thinks’. True, his arguments were less convincing but his affability allowed at least the audience to gel with him as a ‘real’ individual.. In the end, for me at least, Ormerod’s experience of living a dual life and sharing the stress that placed on her, won the day. The debate as a whole however proved a winner for all.