I was watching a video made by a dermatologist about anti-ageing skincare, under which I saw multiple comments from pre-teens asking if it was too early to start preventative anti-ageing treatments, and how they should go about asking their parents to buy them.

I thought perhaps this was an isolated issue, but after doing a bit of digging it seems dermatologists are becoming increasingly concerned with children and teens coming to them seeking anti-ageing treatments.

We've created a culture where ageing is the enemy. It should worry us that this is being pushed to people so forcefully and at such an early age that they feel the need to prevent and mitigate the natural “damage” caused by living their lives and moving their faces.

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Dermatologists and aestheticians are seeing increasingly younger patients who believe that preventative treatments will help maintain youthful appearance in the long term, and that the earlier they can start this process, the longer they will be able to continue looking young.

The responsibility has of course been pushed back on young people, with people saying they're growing up too soon, that they are becoming preoccupied with their looks due to vanity, but it's hard not to when the social media they are exposed to is full of messaging and marketing which has the potential to alter and shift the way they see themselves.

There are very few spaces in the online world within which children and young people can access solely age-appropriate content, and it can be hard for young and impressionable viewers to distinguish which messages they're supposed to ignore and which are appropriate for their age group.

To have unlimited access to media which demonises the ageing process and seeing influencers doing........

© Herald Scotland