Do you think having a tan is a good thing? Are you going to be striving for the bronzed Aussie glow this summer? Unfortunately, until a tan isn’t cool, no one cares about skin cancer.

80% of teenagers still thing having a tan is a good thing, and 1 in 4 will be sunburnt on any given weekend, according to research done by the Cancer Council. And social media plays a large part in this glamorisation of tanning. Familiar with the #tanline challenge? Honestly, we hope not.

Social media is an awesome tool for communication and community building, but we also know it can be really damaging- especially when it’s promoting the opposite of sun safe messaging.

The perfect person to speak about this is Michelle Wong, an expert in both the influencer and science spheres. A fascinating combination, we know!

So what do a science communicator like @labmuffinbeautyscience and other skin cancer field experts have to say on the matter? And how has social media shaped your own perceptions of tanning, and the sun?