The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has issued a critical warning regarding the pervasive advertising of appearance-changing products directed at children on social media. A recent report highlighted that children are being “routinely bombarded” with advertisements for potentially harmful items, including weight loss injections, skin lightening products, and steroids.
According to the report titled A Healthy Influence? Children’s Exposure to Appearance-Changing Products Online, more than three quarters of children, specifically 78%, reported that these advertisements negatively impact their self-esteem. Alarmingly, 41% of adolescents aged 13 to 17 have encountered advertisements for prescription-only weight loss drugs, despite a ban on such promotions to the general public.
Dame Rachel’s investigation revealed that over half of the children surveyed, 54%, had seen advertisements for exercise and diet plans, while 52% reported exposure to food and drink ads claiming to aid in weight loss. The findings also indicated significant disparities among different ethnic groups. For instance, 46% of black children and 35% of Asian children reported seeing ads for skin lightening products, compared to only 24% of white children, despite many of these items being illegal in the UK and containing potentially toxic ingredients.
Urgent Regulatory Changes Needed
The report further noted that 66% of children had encountered teeth whitening products online, with more than half of girls, 56%, seeing advertisements for cosmetic procedures such as fillers or Botox, which are illegal for individuals under the age of 18. Disturbingly, 8% of children admitted to purchasing or trying non-prescription pills marketed for weight loss, while 21% had engaged with food or drink products linked to weight loss claims.
The data indicates that black children are more likely to experiment with these products, including exercise and diet plans, than their white peers. Some children reported adverse reactions after trying appearance-changing products, including infections from eyelash items containing undisclosed chemicals.
These alarming trends follow a 2024 survey conducted by the Commissioner, which revealed that only 40% of girls and 60% of boys expressed satisfaction with their appearance.
In response to these findings, Dame Rachel is advocating for an immediate prohibition of all advertising targeting children on social media. She proposes amending the Online Safety Act and modifying Ofcom’s Children’s Code of Practice to provide explicit protections against body stigma content. Additionally, she calls for enhanced regulation and enforcement concerning the online sale of age-restricted products.
Dame Rachel stated, “Childhood is a short and precious time, but it is undeniable that children today are facing pressures like never before, with too many children growing up in an online world that takes advantage of their insecurities and tells them they are not good enough as they are.”
She emphasized the normalization of dangerous appearance-changing products through advertising and influencer culture, highlighting the immense damage they can cause to children’s developing self-esteem.
“Many parts of the online world are not built with children’s best interests at heart. The Government should consider every mechanism available to protect children from harmful content and services, including restricting children’s access to some social media platforms,” she added.
While a complete social media ban for under-16s may be one solution, Dame Rachel cautions that it cannot be the sole approach. She insists that any restrictions must be informed by children’s perspectives and behaviors online, with a clear enforcement plan to prevent them from being driven to more dangerous areas of the internet.
“Urgent action is needed to create an online world that is truly safer by design. We cannot continue to accept an online world that profits from children’s insecurities and constantly tells them they need to change or must be better,” she concluded.
These findings, based on a survey conducted by OnePoll with 2,000 children aged 13 to 17 in December, underscore the pressing need for regulatory reforms to safeguard the well-being of young internet users.
