July 2014
Featured in this insight: IT & telecommunications, Media & publishing, Medical & healthcare
Many Britons not happy with their appearance, study shows: According to a recent poll, two fifths (37%) of British adults think celebrity culture is the biggest threat to the well-being of 17 and 18 year-olds in Britain.
A break-down of the survey’s results shows males (41%) are more likely than females (33%) to believe this, with 25+ year olds around 10% more likely to agree with the statement than 18 to 24 year olds (28%).
Almost three quarters (74%) of the survey’s respondents said celebrity culture has a negative impact on young people – 37% said fairly negative, and the same percentage said very negative. Just one in 10 (10%) believed it to have either a very or fairly positive impact.
Elsewhere, respondents were considerably more likely to say celebrity culture has a net negative impact on women (72%) than men (46%). Around one in 10 said celebrity culture has a very or fairly positive impact on each gender.
However, when asked what impact celebrity culture has on themselves, just one quarter (26%) said they were negatively affected, with 6% stating they were positively influenced. Three fifths (62%) said they were neither positively nor negatively affected.
And, finally, of the 1,650 British adults questioned, almost two fifths (37%) admitted they were not happy with their own weight and body image – around three in 10 (27%) were not very happy, and 10% were not happy at all. Females (41%) were less likely to be satisfied with their appearance than males (32%).
Furthermore, other areas thought to pose threats to the well-being of 17 and 18 year olds in Britain included: binge drinking (57%); obesity/being overweight (43%); sexualised culture (39%); spending too much time online (39%); smoking (20%); stress caused by exams and school (13%) and eating disorders (8%).
The research in this study was conducted by YouGov.
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