Reality TV is responsible for making half of British young people feel bad about their bodies, a survey for BBC 5 Live has found.
Over a third (35%) of Millennials said they were more likely to consider cosmetic surgery as a result of what they see on TV, 15% higher than the national average.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bullying Statistics, which offers facts and advice to help counter so-called ‘body shaming’, says “technology has made a focus on appearance stronger than ever”.
But the current obsession with thin is in fact a fairly new phenomenon. In centuries past being overweight was seen as a sign of good health because it meant the person had money to buy food and was eating well.
“This was a status symbol” says Bullying Statistics. “Now, food is an easier commodity to come by in developed nations. Having the money to own exercise equipment or have a gym membership is the new status symbol. Thin is a symbol of wealth and fitness.”
While obesity is putting an ever-growing strain on the health service, the ComRes survey suggests a quarter of British adults have either had surgery, or know someone who has had plastic surgery or a cosmetic procedure.
ITV has been forced to defend advertising for Love Island, which pulled in a record audience for its Monday night finale, after criticism from the head of NHS England about seeing trailers for cosmetic breast surgery.
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Andrew Tate and the radicalisation of teenage boysTalking Point Teachers say male students are being sucked into former kickboxer’s ultra- macho world where they are exposed to his disturbing views
-
How TikTok conquered the worldfeature The Chinese-owned video app is expected to have 1.8 billion users by the end of the year
-
The Week Unwrapped: Immunity, Tunisia and Big Brotherpodcast Will a drug called Evusheld cut Covid deaths still further? Is the Arab Spring over? And are we ready for the return of reality TV?
-
‘Love Island should take pride in including the queer community’Instant Opinion Your digest of analysis from the British and international press
-
The Week Unwrapped: Quitting China, social age checks and dental desertspodcast Why has AirBnB given up on China? Are social networks finally taking age limits seriously? And why is it so hard to find a dentist?
-
Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drugSpeed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
-
In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policySpeed Read Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon
-
Were Covid restrictions dropped too soon?Speed Read ‘Living with Covid’ is already proving problematic – just look at the travel chaos this week
