A shocking new study has revealed that children as young as 12 spend up to an hour and a half every day worrying about their appearance.
The OnePoll research found social media is harming people’s confidence with 71 per cent of teenagers and 53 per cent of adults admitting sites such as Facebook and Instagram make them more worried about how they look.
Thirty-two per cent of teens have edited pictures on social media to alleviate their worries while 37 per cent have even avoided being in photos altogether.
Children now start to worry about their appearance at the age of 12, with almost 90 per cent saying they worry about their appearance for an hour and 34 minutes each day.
One in five teens even admitted they have pretended to be sick to get out of going to school or work due to their lack of confidence about their appearance.
And it doesn’t end as you grow up with 86 per cent of adults admitting they still spend an hour and 13 minutes of each day fretting about how they look.
A spokesperson for skincare brand Proactiv+, which commissioned the research, said: “Almost everyone has concerns about their appearance at one time or another, but it’s staggering to see how young these concerns start.
“And it appears that this is a problem which doesn’t go away with age – the worries we have just change slightly instead.
“Teenagers have a lot to adjust to with puberty, a testing time at school as they approach exams and dealing with peer pressure, so the spot breakouts and acne which can really affect their confidence.
“But for many these worries will also continue into adulthood leaving people really struggling with their self-esteem – especially as spots and acne are something most people only associate with the teenage years.”
