It's all much worse for younger people. “They're at a stage at which they're trying to define themselves,” Dr Apter explains. “They're trying out different personalities. There's a dissonance between how they want to be and who they have tried to be. [...] They can't escape selfies, and they feel they need ‘likes', ‘retweets' and ‘favourites' on their pictures to feel that they are interesting. It is a terrifying thought that young people measure their self-worth in terms of ‘likes' on their selfies, but it is a 21 ^st century reality. [...] Of course, it doesn't outweigh the worries about negative body image and their wobbling sense of self-definition. [...] Rembrandt did a lot of self-portraits and he ended up as a hugely celebrated artist, so perhaps the selfie‑snappers of today will have bright futures ahead of them too.

What's that they told you
About a book & a cover?
Don't judge so quickly,
Is it too much to remember?
‘Cause pictures lie,
you know.
I'll show
it's so.
Just give it one thought.

What's that they taught you?
To revere a kind of beauty?
To paint on that pretty veneer
and try to hide whatever's dirty?
Well, faces lie.
You'll see
no sympathy.
Just give it one thought.

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.