When I clicked on Jesy Nelson’s documentary on BBC iPlayer, I actually didn’t intend on watching it all, and I certainly didn’t expect to be so engrossed in it! I hovered over the documentary for a few minutes, debating whether or not to click play, after hearing so much about it online. Eventually curiosity got the better of me, and I clicked play. I snuggled into the sofa, casually expecting it to be about a shallow celebrity talking about her childhood and how becoming a pop-star had changed her life for the better, but I couldn’t have been more wrong!
I didn’t watch X Factor the year Little Mix won, and although I do like quite a lot of their songs, I don’t claim to be a fan and I know very little about the group. I, like many others, have struggled with my image since secondary school and no amount of make up, clothes or compliments will boost my confidence or make me accept how I look. I was bullied in the playground and online, and at one point, I remember being petrified to go to school. Watching Jesy on the tv give such a heartfelt and emotional description of her life, and telling how X Factor had made her life worse rather than better, struck such a chord within me and I felt I could relate on so many levels.
Unlike Jesy though, I haven’t been the victim of online trolls. Hearing some of the comments that she received on a daily basis disgusted me. I still can’t quite believe some people have it in them to be so cruel to others, just because they think they are protected by the safety of their computer screens.
I thought it was interesting that the documentary wasn’t solely about Jesy, and that she took the time to travel and meet other people who had experienced loss, and workshops who help support people who have been victims of bullying and abuse.
I was so completely absorbed by this documentary and I was literally moved to tears at a few points during it. It really makes you realise just how damaging social media can be. I actually think I am lucky that social media sites were introduced when I was a teenager (I did have msn though!) but I genuinely worry about the future generations who will grow up with social media and see it as ‘the norm’.
