By . Leon Watson . PUBLISHED: . 02:50 EST, 22 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:49 EST, 22 April 2013 . Bestselling author Lionel Shriver has said constant exposure to their own images on new media has made teenagers neurotic about how they look. The American-born Orange Prize winner, who lives in central London,  said today's generation of youngsters is 'hyper conscious' about how it was seen by others. She said teenagers are constantly shown what they really look like partly because of a 'proliferation' of images on cameras in mobile phones and on the internet. Lionel Shriver, pictured at her central London apartment, said today's generation of youngsters is 'hyper conscious' about how it was seen by others . She claimed technology meant that teenagers grew up looking at themselves rather than outwards and said parenting was a 'minefield'. Shriver, who is best known for her novel We Need To Talk About Kevin, said weight and size was an issue that affected virtually everyone, The Times reported today. 'We have become chronically neurotic about food,' she said at the Chipping Norton Literary Festival. 'It may be — and I haven't really thought about it before — but part of it must be the proliferation of photographs in our lives. 'If you think about it, in the olden days you didn't see pictures of yourself very often. You might see yourself in the mirror sometimes, but for the most part you looked out.' Shriver blamed a 'proliferation' of images on cameras in mobile telephones and posted online, constantly showing people what they really look like . Shriver added the preoccupation make people think about food 'all the time'. Speaking about young girls growing up posting photographs of themselves online, she said 'you really don't want them to be anorexic' but added 'it's a minefield'. Shriver's latest novel Big Brother explores the modern preoccupation with size. It tells the story of a brother and sister tackling issues of obesity and examines why people increasingly struggle with food.
She said youngsters are 'hyper conscious' about how they're seen .
Shriver was speaking at the Chipping Norton Literary Festival .
By . Leon Watson . PUBLISHED: . 02:50 EST, 22 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:49 EST, 22 April 2013 . Bestselling author Lionel Shriver has said constant exposure to their own images on new media has made teenagers neurotic about how they look. The American-born Orange Prize winner, who lives in central London,  said today's generation of youngsters is 'hyper conscious' about how it was seen by others. She said teenagers are constantly shown what they really look like partly because of a 'proliferation' of images on cameras in mobile phones and on the internet. Lionel Shriver, pictured at her central London apartment, said today's generation of youngsters is 'hyper conscious' about how it was seen by others . She claimed technology meant that teenagers grew up looking at themselves rather than outwards and said parenting was a 'minefield'. Shriver, who is best known for her novel We Need To Talk About Kevin, said weight and size was an issue that affected virtually everyone, The Times reported today. 'We have become chronically neurotic about food,' she said at the Chipping Norton Literary Festival. 'It may be — and I haven't really thought about it before — but part of it must be the proliferation of photographs in our lives. 'If you think about it, in the olden days you didn't see pictures of yourself very often. You might see yourself in the mirror sometimes, but for the most part you looked out.' Shriver blamed a 'proliferation' of images on cameras in mobile telephones and posted online, constantly showing people what they really look like . Shriver added the preoccupation make people think about food 'all the time'. Speaking about young girls growing up posting photographs of themselves online, she said 'you really don't want them to be anorexic' but added 'it's a minefield'. Shriver's latest novel Big Brother explores the modern preoccupation with size. It tells the story of a brother and sister tackling issues of obesity and examines why people increasingly struggle with food.
of youngsters is 'hyper conscious' about how it was seen by others. She said teenagers are at the Chipping Norton Literary Festival. 'It may