The social experiences of young people with visible differences - Lay Summary

The Centre for Appearance Research have published their findings after speaking to young people with visible differences about their social media experiences. We're sharing the results as Psoriasis can be classed as a visible difference.

Researchers spoke to people aged between 13-17 years (9 girls, 3 boys) who expressed how using social media makes them feel.

“I was constantly comparing myself to other people’s lives, which made me quite unhappy”

“You've got people commenting horrifying things to people just because there's that screen and there’s the anonymity”

Young people talked about how spending time on social media can be harmful to their mental health.

They felt that beauty standards and social comparisons could negatively impact their self esteem and daily life. They felt that online interactions could be harsher due to anonymity, leading to unwelcome comments and questions about their visible differences.

“If people are negative, you can just block them”

“I’ve got a private account that I just let a few people follow and that’s where I usually put my day-to-day stuff”

Young people talked about ways they protected themselves online, such as being mindful of their audience when sharing content, and using strategies to cope with negative reactions.

“I think it just feels good that people are supporting me and what I go through”

"A lot of people I’ve found similar to me that I probably wouldn't have found if I didn't use social media”

“I feel like this [an image of a midsize model with vitiligo] shows I don't have to be perfect. I don't

have to be perfectly slim. I don't have to be ashamed of my birthmark”

Young people found social media valuable for connecting with others who have visible differences, sharing their

experiences, and forming supportive relationships. They felt that increased representation on social media could help reduce stigma and positively impact their self-esteem and how they felt about their appearance. Supportive reactions to posts about visible difference boosted their confidence and sense of belonging.

Many young people wanted to use social media to support and uplift others.

They believed that increasing representation of people with visible differences doing everyday tasks could challenge narrow beauty ideals, prompting people to question their own beliefs and ultimately encouraging societal change.

“If they [people who react negatively to visible differences] see more stuff on social media with visible differences, and they get more used to it, they'll stop commenting on it so much and they'll stop commenting badly on visible differences”

“[My goal is] to help other people that are also going through alopecia to know that they're beautiful and

then just to make a stand as well”

Young people used social media intentionally, choosing content and setting limits to maintain a healthy balance.