More than half of teenagers have felt or do feel insecure about their appearance, according to research.
Nearly half of girls have tried to lose weight by the age of 17 and a third of boys have felt under pressure to be muscly.
The research was commissioned by youth empowerment programme National Citizen Service who surveyed 1,000 teenagers across England.
It also showed that 40% said their appearance was influenced by what they see on social media compared to 24% who said celebrities were a bigger influence.
There was also evidence of the darker side of social media, with 58% saying they have felt jealous, negative or insecure because of social media and 24% saying they felt negative about themselves because they did not look like their friends.
Thirty-two percent of girls admitted they were “obsessed” with getting likes on social media.
[“Source-sky”]
