A quarter of kids say how they look is a ‘main worry’ in their life

Becoming aware of your appearance is a key part of growing up but a new study suggests that it's a real concern for lots of children.

One in four children aged nine to 16 say that how they look is one of the main things they worry about. Almost half - four in ten - say that they have gotten negative or abusive comments about their appearance. The figures come from a survey of kids in the UK by sleep company Simba. A third of respondents admitted that they were worried their peers didn't really like them. One in six reported that they felt they would never fit in anywhere as they're "different" to those around them. One expert on youth mental health says that the pressures of social media mean that children are increasingly image-conscious. "As a society, we should be helping children to feel positive about who they are and how they look, rather than anxious and insecure," Campaigns Director at YoungMinds Tom Madders told Metro. "Schools have an important role to play in promoting wellbeing, and in helping young people use social media in a way that’s positive for their mental health." A 2017 report named Instagram and Snapchat, both photo-sharing apps, as the social media sites that are most detrimental to young people’s mental health and wellbeing. The Royal Society for Public Health's #StatusOfMind report, meanwhile, stated that Youtube was the most positive. "It’s interesting to see Instagram and Snapchat ranking as the worst for mental health and wellbeing - both platforms are very image-focused and it appears they may be driving feelings of inadequacy and anxiety in young people," said Shirley Cramer, CEO of the RSPH at the launch of the report.