Television shows which glamourise fame, luxury, and wealth accumulation such as Made in Chelsea or Keeping Up With The Kardashians, make viewers cold-hearted towards the poor, a new study suggests.

New research from the London School of Economics (LSE) found that even 60 seconds of exposure to materialistic media is enough to significantly increase anti-welfare sentiment.

Study author Dr Rodolfo Leyva of LSE’s Department of Media and Communications said: “Humans are inherently materialistic but also very social and communal.

“The way this is expressed depends on our culture. If there is more emphasis on materialism as a way to be happy, this makes us more inclined to be selfish and anti-social, and therefore unsympathetic to people less fortunate.

“This study can contribute to explanations for why the UK public’s support for welfare to aid the impoverished and unemployed has been decreasing.”