10-12 year-olds feel pressure to look good in selfies

A new survey commissioned by BBC Newsround suggests 10-12 year-olds are feeling the pressure to look good in the selfies that they share on social media

The survey involved 1,000 10-12 year-olds who use social media, of whom more than half (55 per cent) say they share selfies. The vast majority of those who do say it’s important that they look good in the selfies they post (83 per cent). On average this group take four selfies before choosing one to share and three out of four (75 per cent) say they edit photos at least sometimes before posting them. One in five of those surveyed (20 per cent) agree that when they see photos of celebrities on social media it makes them worry about how they look.

BBC Newsround commissioned ComRes to conduct the survey to coincide with Safer Internet Day 2017 (February 7). The survey also looked into the concept of sharenting – parents sharing images of their children on social media – and found that lots of kids don’t always think it’s good fun.

More than one in four 10-12s who say their parents post pictures of them on social media (29 per cent) report feeling embarrassed, anxious, or nervous when this happens. One quarter of those surveyed (27 per cent) say they have been unhappy with a photo someone else has shared of them. More than one in three (39 per cent) said that made them feel sad, anxious or nervous - the most common reasons for that unhappiness were not liking the way they looked (61 per cent) and not being asked first (42 per cent).

Despite these pressures, most 10-12 year-olds who use social media enjoy it, with 83 per cent saying they feel happy, sociable or excited when they use social media and more than one in three (39 per cent) saying they would feel excluded, sad or lonely if they didn’t have it any more.

BBC Newsround’s Deputy Editor, Georgina Bowman, says: “We commissioned this research to find out more about how our audience are using social media, as part of broader coverage of Safer Internet Day on CBBC. We discovered they’re feeling under pressure to take the 'perfect' selfie. It’s also clear that parents’ ability to embarrass their children lives on when they share pictures of their kids on social media.”

For more details on the CBBC programming and content around Safer Internet Day visit bbc.co.uk/cbbc

JP2

Notes to Editors

• Full data tables are available at www.comresglobal.com
• The research was conducted by ComRes for the BBC. ComRes interviewed 1,001 UK 10-12 year-olds who use social media online between 4 and 11 January 2017. Data was weighted by age and gender to be representative of all UK 10-12 year-olds. ComRes is a member of the British polling council and abides by its rules.

About Safer Internet Day

• Safer Internet Day 2017 will take place on Tuesday 7 February with the theme Be The Change: Unite For A Better Internet.
• Coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre the celebration sees hundreds of organisations get involved to help promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.
• The UK Safer Internet Centre is a partnership of three leading organisations: Childnet International the South West Grid for Learning and the Internet Watch Foundation – provide resources for children, schools and families, and tools for getting involved at www.saferinternet.org.uk
• Globally, Safer Internet Day is celebrated in over a hundred countries, coordinated by the joint Insafe/INHOPE network, with the support of the European Commission, and national Safer Internet Centres across Europe.