Self Esteem & Confidence Panel at Summer in the City 2018

The Self Esteem and Confidence panel took place on Sunday at Summer in the City 2018, in Panel Room C. Moderated by TenEighty Co-Editor AJ Brinnand, the panel featured Ricky Dillon, Lana Summer, Lucy Wood, Helen Anderson and Gary C. 

Living in such an online world, it’s important to realise there’s a difference between self-esteem and confidence within yourself. This panel explored how when finding these online they can be two very different things.

Ricky shared that in the early days he was quite reserved, only opening up to his core group of friends and finding confidence online is something which happened slowly over time. Lana, on the other hand, spoke about how she is often overly excited and when creating her content, she’s aware that she might receive comments telling her to calm down and tone it down a little.

Gary had another outlook. He said that thanks to the call-out culture we live in online, he is more aware than ever before about the way he comes across. As someone who is a natural people pleaser, it would hurt him if anyone was hurt by words he put online.

The conversation then turned to comments creators receive online and how it can affect them. Helen, in particular, said she found it quite hard to engage with comments, as she really enjoys interacting with her followers, but that does mean you can find comments you don’t like. For example, she finds it particularly hard to cope with comments linked to her personality, as opposed to her appearance. Lucy, on the other hand, noted that her self-deprecating humour means she comments on everything herself before anyone else does.

Gary offered some advice on this issue. He said that the way he deals with them is by trying to look at the comment in question and figure out exactly what bothered him about it, adding that you can use this to mute phases or comments which bother you.

Developing self-esteem and confidence can take time and practice. Lana advised that you should treat yourself like your best friend and build yourself up in the same way in which you’d build up your best friend.

Each of the panellists shared that they’d received some form of advice from those around them. Gary mentioned how he was told that he is enough, and he needs to be kinder to himself – something that helped him with his confidence journey. The panellists reflected that the people you surround yourself with is important and can have an impact on your self-esteem and confidence.

Looking within yourself was a key point of discussion within the panel. There was a consensus that it’s important to find happiness within yourself and take time for yourself, even if that means scheduling it in.

The panel ended with a Q&A session, in which the panel tackled issues such as dealing with imposter syndrome. Helen made a point of saying to the audience: be proud of yourself and what you have achieved, and take some credit for the work you have done.

Photos by George Yonge.