By Michaela Gordoni
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt warns that children have no role as social media influencers — and especially as beauty influencers.
“Cosmeticorexia is a social media trend that’s a growing concern for dermatologists and psychologists,” Haidt wrote alongside a BBC video that warns of the trend. “It’s an unhealthy obsession with achieving ‘flawless’ skin from a young age, leading to an obsessive use of cosmetic products.”
He remarks that children pretending to be adults is normal, like playing doctor or dress-up. But beauty obsession is unhealthy.
He referenced one British beauty influencer, Ellie-May, who is 13 and has made beauty and skincare tutorials for five years. Over 330,000 followers on TikTok watch her multi-step skincare routines.
“Ellie-May is one of many young girls making ‘get ready with me’ or ‘after school’ skincare videos, where they talk about their plans for the day while using cosmetics,” Haidt said. “Not only does this trend foster an obsession with personal appearance, but in the last few years the internet has become rife with nudify apps, which enable creeps to see these girls in very different ways than they and their parents would want to be seen. Get kids off social media. Now.”
Related: Should Childhood Become Content? Backlash Grows Against Kidfluencing
Professor Giovanni Damiani, an Italian dermatologist from the University of Milan, interviewed 55 of his patients, between ages 8 and 14 years old.
He found that those who displayed signs of cosmeticorexia were screen obsessed and would spend hours watching skincare videos on social media. They would use up to 10 different skincare products every day. And they would not like to socialize with others, even with their family, without wearing make-up, the BBC reported.
The Italian Competition Authority (ACGM) is currently investigating the owner of Sephora and Benefit, LVMH, for selling adult cosmetic products to children.
ACGM said the companies “may have failed to make clear” the cosmetics they sold were not intended for children, while “appearing instead to have encouraged their purchase through covert marketing strategies involving young micro-influencers,” the Guardian said.
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS star Shay Mitchell recently launched a children’s skincare company that sells hydrogel face masks. She received a lot of backlash for it.
Mitchell responded, “Truly skincare starts from birth. We moisturize, we soothe, we comfort their skin as newborns. This is the same thing, it’s just in a different format that’s just more fun, and I feel very age appropriate.”
“I think this is coming down to it not being a beauty thing,” she continued. “Kids don’t look at masks and think about fixing; they think about it being a cooling sensation and a shared moment.”
Well, that depends on the child. A young girl with cosmeticorexia would probably think about “fixing” and the beauty aspects of it in an unhealthy way.
Read Next: Will This Docuseries Be a ‘Wake-Up Call’ For ‘Kidfluencing’ Industry?
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
Share:
- Content: +1
