One in three girls ‘changes appearance on posted photos’
● Social media ‘damages mental health of many young women’
A third of girls will not post selfies online without using a filter or app to change their appearance, while a similar proportion have deleted photos with too few “likes” or comments, research has found.
A b o u t h a l f o f g i r l s a n d young women regularly alter their photos to enhance their appearance online and “find a c c e p t a n c e”, G i r l g u i d i n g ’s annual Girls’ Attitudes survey found.
S o me 3 4 p e r c e n t o f 1 1- to 21-year- olds said they would not post a photo of themselves online without using a filter or app to enhance it first, with older girls more likely to say this.
Thir t y-three p er cent said t h e y h a d d e l e t e d p i c t u r e s w h i c h d i d n o t g e t e n o u g h attention.
The charit y sur veyed 2,186 girls and young women aged between seven and 21 across the UK for its annual report, which will be released in full next month.
I t s a i d t h e i n c r e a s e d t i me s p e n t o n l i n e d u r i n g l o c k - down, coupled with exposure to “unrealistic” images of girls and young women, was exacerbating the pressures they faced.
Almost four in ten (39 p er cent) of the 1,473 respondents aged 11 to 21 said they felt upset they could not look the same in real life as they do online, with 44 p er cent saying fear that others would criticise their body stops them from agreeing to have their picture taken.
O n e r e s p o n d e n t s a i d : “I f i n d i t h a r d t o g o t h r o u g h Insta[gram] because everyone looks perfect and it lowers my self-confidence.”
G i r l g u i d i n g a d v o c a t e Phoebe Kent, from Reading, said she felt influencer cul - ture was one of the most damaging phenomena to emerge on social media.
As a schoolgirl, she would think, “How can everyone look so good online?” when filtered
photos of her peers appeared on social media.
T h e 2 0 - y e a r - o l d s t u d e n t s a i d : “I t h i n k n ow, b e c a u s e I’m older I’m able to critique t h e t h i n g s I s e e o n l i n e a n d overcome it, but for younger girls and young women it just absolutely knocks your selfesteem.
“I know so many people that have just ended up coming off social media because they can’t deal with the detrimen
tal impact on their confidence and wellbeing. It’s definitely impacting on mental health for so many girls and young women.”
Eight out of ten respondents h a d c o n s i d e r e d c h a n g i n g how they looked, with more than half thinking this would improve their confidence or make them feel better about themselves.