Letters to the Editor: ‘Skinfluencers’? The last thing kids should worry about is beauty care

To the editor: I’m confused, because your article on preteen “skinfluencers” says these kids are showing off their multi-hundred-dollar hauls of makeup and other products on TikTok.
Do these children have jobs? How do they pay for their expensive hauls? Oh, that must be their millennial parents.
But everything I hear about millennials is that they can’t afford homes and are suffering under crushing college debt. What am I missing?
Plus, I’m sure these millennial parent enablers are well aware that every generation has had an impossible example of what beauty should be, and that has driven them to unrealistic expectations, body dysmorphia and depression. Why are they setting up their children for that type of future? What’s going to happen to these kids’ mental health when they grow up and have real skin issues?
Seems like two strong catalysts for low self-esteem, depression and mental health issues are at play here: social media and body dysmorphia. We’ll be reading about that in the L.A. Times in five or 10 years.
Kathi Weiner, Dana Point
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To the editor: I don’t understand the brouhaha over preteens’ obsession with skin-care products.
With today’s sad statistics about isolation, depression and even suicide among children, it doesn’t seem like such a terrible idea for kids to go out to the mall with friends to try out beauty products. Instead of staring at their phones, girls are socializing, interacting with adults and focusing on self-improvement.
And how can anyone fault a “skinfluencer” for posting a video on “how to behave politely in stores”? Millennials may ask why a 12-year-old needs a “pumpkin peel” — I’m not sure why a 35-year-old needs one.
Kendall Wolf, Encino
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To the editor: What? No mention of pimples during puberty?
It must have been a slow news day. Whatever happened to “man bites dog” stories?
Oliver Seely, Lakewood