Celebrities take them, adults take them and teenagers love them. It’s a word that has become synonymous with social media, self-love, and in some cases, shocking levels of self-obsession. This was the topic of Wirral Young Chamber’s first oracy debate of the year: ‘Scrutinizing the selfie – Self Confidence or Self Obsession?’ The event was held at Birkenhead School on Tuesday 23rd January and Mrs Smart took a team of 11 pupils from Y9 and Sixth Form ready to engage in the thought-provoking discussion.

The event followed the ‘Question Time’ format and included a panel of five experts to offer their views on this controversial trend. Our students particularly enjoyed asking questions to Dr Sally-Ann Dolan MBChB, the owner of a local aesthetic clinic, about how she felt selfies affected an individual’s self-esteem.  Head Boy Jonathan Nield engaged in an interesting debate with the Deputy Head of Birkenhead School about whether or not selfies promote equality for women. This was good preparation for the next ‘Question Time’ event in April when we will be hosting the event at SJP.