According to a study published by the Guardian, three out of four children as young as 12 dislike their bodies and are embarrassed by the way they look, increasing to eight in 10 young people aged 18 to 21. The findings come from a major new study warning that social media represents a significant risk to the current and future health of today’s young generations.
Nearly half of all children and young people aged from 12 to 21 questioned said they have become withdrawn, started exercising excessively, stopped socialising completely or self-harmed because they are regularly bullied or trolled online about their physical appearance.
4 in 10 said they are in mental health distress, with almost one in five experiencing body image issues and 14% experiencing eating difficulties, such as extremely restrictive eating, binge eating and purging or vomiting. Of those in need of support, just one in ten young people was receiving treatment.
The study found that 97% of children as young as 12 are now on social media. Despite almost 70% saying that social media makes them feel stressed, anxious and depressed – with two-thirds saying they were worried by the amount of time they spend on social media – the average daily time spent on apps was 3.65 hours.
Despite that, 95% of those questioned said they felt helpless when it came to quitting their online habit. They also admitted that they are four times more likely to turn to social media apps than to talk to friends and family when seeking to overcome negative feelings or low self-worth about their bodies.
This goes on to show that social media is one of the issues placing “unprecedented pressure” on today’s young people “that culminate in some giving up hope”.
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