There is nothing new about preteens and teenagers being unhappy about the way they look (Social media triggers children to dislike their own bodies, says study, 1 January).
I can clearly recall experiencing an intense dislike of my body and face at that age, in the late 1950s and early 60s, but no adults asked us about it in those days, though we did often share our unhappiness with our friends.
It is clear that social media has aggravated the situation, but for a young person to claim that “If social media didn’t exist, I wouldn’t compare myself or be compared: I’d just get on with life” is clearly nonsensical, since there are almost no young people now who know what life is without social media.
The dissatisfaction is a perfectly natural stage of the growing-up process, and while the very real dangers of social media obviously need to be detected and controlled, they are certainly not the basic cause of unhappiness with one’s appearance at that age.
Dr Brigid Purcell
Norwich
• I sympathise with children whose self-esteem is affected by social media. However, such hazards are not new. As a teen in the 1950s, my late mother regularly told me I was round-shouldered, and that I had bad breath and a strawberry nose. It took great courage to ask a girl out for my first date. Thankfully she accepted.
Giles Youngs
Drinkstone, Suffolk
