Girls aged 13 having plastic surgery due to social media

THOUSANDS of teenage girls as young as 13 are turning to cosmetic surgery because of pressures about appearance from social media, a study has revealed.

Some six per cent of girls aged 13 to 16 – equivalent to more than 100,000 – said they had undergone cosmetic surgery to improve their looks.

One in six (15 per cent) – equivalent to more than 350,000 – said they had taken antidepressants, according to the poll by Survation for You Inside Out (UIO), which is launching a campaign to help teenagers. Sonja Lewis, the UIO founder, said: “Girls are being denied their teen years and instead are being parachuted into womanhood prematurely because of the pressures.”

One in six said they had shared sexually explicit material about themselves online, according to the poll of 1,250 teenage girls and 1,250 women.

Ash Mosahebi, the UCL professor of plastic surgery and honorary secretary of the BAAPS association of plastic surgeons, said: “There’s no doubt that social media has had an impact on demand, particularly when it comes to the face, legs and eyes.

“It’s peer pressure in online groups and with people’s followers.” BAAPS has rules that under-18s should not be treated without a medical or functional justification.

Dr Jon Goldin, a vice-chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists said: “We need more research to shine a light on the benefits and harms of internet and social media. The college believes social media firms should be made to invest some of their profits to fund this work.”