Page 30 Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 28, 2019has stayed steady at around 69 per
cent since the late 2000s.
The survey found that among
boys, the share who are happy with
their appearance remained at just
over 75 per cent from 2009 to 2015.
Between then and 2017, however,
it fell to 73.4 per cent.
Boys are much less likely to be
worried about their looks after
reaching their teenage years than
between the late childhood ages of
ten and 12, the report said.
Asked about worries over what is
happening more widely, 42 per cent
of ten to 17 year-olds said they are
concerned about crime.
The report also revealed that older
people may be over-estimating this
age group’s fears over the environ-
ment despite the high-profile
campaign of 16-year-old activist
Greta Thunberg.
It found that 41 per cent of
children and teenagers are worried
about the environment, slightly less
than the figure for crime.
More than a third, 37 per cent, cite
worries about sharing information
on social media while 20 per cent
worry over the economy or Brexit.
The charity said one in eight chil-
dren are unhappy at school and
around one in 40 do not like their
friends. Excessive use of social
media was one reason for tension
between friends, it added.
The society’s chief executive Mark
Russell said: ‘Modern childhood is a
happy and carefree time for most,
yet for too many it is not.
‘Young people are becoming
progressively unhappy with their
friendships as well as appearance
and school.’
The report is based on the
society’s own and other public
surveys of the well-being of children
and the young.
[email protected]‘I think I look
like a stick’TEENAGE boys are catching
up with their female counter-
parts by becoming more wor-
ried about their looks, a chil-
dren’s charity said yesterday.
It is making them unhappier as
boys now reaching their early
teens are much more likely to
fret about their bodies and
clothes than earlier generations.
The findings by the Children’s
Society suggest the ‘Love Island’
culture in which a sculpted ‘gym
body’ is of overwhelming impor-
tance has a wide influence among
male teenagers.
Many girls have long struggled
with being satisfied about their
looks, said a report. It added: ‘His-
torically, boys have been happier
with their appearance but the gap
is narrowing.’
According to the society’s annualBy Steve Doughty
Social Affairs CorrespondentGood Childhood report, overall
more than 200,000 children said
they are unhappy with their lives as
a whole. For boys, their looks are an
increasingly important factor in
why they are happy or unhappy.
The report estimated that just
under one in 12 boys, around 180,000
of all those aged ten to 15, are
unhappy about their appearance.
It quoted one teenager who felt
ashamed not to measure up to
young men showing off their torsos
on social media.
‘Like Instagram and stuff, right?’
he said. ‘You see all these models,
you see all these weightlifters, body-
builders and you look at yourself
and you’re like, “I look like a stick”.
‘I feel like we’re exposed to a lot
more so we are less secure about
our appearance.’ Among girls, the
proportion content with their looksEyesore: The graffiti tag spoiling the castle view that is said to have upset the Queen Underground artist: Same tag at a Tube station and on a Bristol building
VANDALS have ruined a renowned view of By Vanessa Allen
Windsor Castle by spray-painting a 60ft
graffiti ‘tag’ on a historic railway viaduct.
The word ‘Helch’ appeared in massive
letters on the Victorian bridge on Mon-
day, spoiling the view many visitors haveof the castle from a dual carriageway. The
identity of the graffiti artist is unknown
but the word has appeared on London
railway and Tube stations, and on bridgeson the M4, M1 and the M25. A royal source
told The Sun that the Queen was ‘extremely
upset’ about the ‘eyesore’, adding: ‘Her
aides have been asked to see what can be
done to have this gratuitous vandalism
cleaned up and the views across to Wind-sor Castle restored to their former
beauty.’ Richard Endacott, from West
Windsor Residents’ Association, said the
spray-painting pest should pay to have the
graffiti cleaned off. Network Rail said it will
only remove offensive graffiti.Who the Helch is graff iti pest riling the Queen?
Generation
of boys who
worry about
their bodies
V2