Plastic surgeons say more people are coming into their offices and asking if the doctors can make them look more like they do in Snapchat.
“Previously, patients would bring images of celebrities to their consultations to emulate their attractive features,” write researchers from Boston University School of Medicine’s Department of Dermatology published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.
“A new phenomenon, dubbed ‘Snapchat dysmorphia,’ has patients seeking out cosmetic surgery to look like filtered versions of themselves instead, with fuller lips, bigger eyes, or a thinner nose. This is an alarming trend because those filtered selfies often present an unattainable look and are blurring the line of reality and fantasy for these patients,” they write.
“We live in an era of edited selfies and ever-evolving standards of beauty. The advent and popularity of image-based social media have put Photoshop and filters in everyone’s arsenal. A few swipes on Snapchat can give your selfie a crown of flowers or puppy ears. A little adjusting on Facetune can smoothen out skin, and make teeth look whiter and eyes and lips bigger. A quick share on Instagram, and the likes and comments start rolling in. These filters and edits have become the norm, altering people’s perception of beauty worldwide,” the researchers write.
The Washington Post reports that in a 2017 survey, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that 55% of plastic surgeons said patients had requested surgery to look better on social media apps — up 13% from the previous year.
Neelam Vashi, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Boston University School of Medicine and one of the article’s authors, told The Washington Post that “Snapchat dysmorphia” is a result of people now being able to edit away any imperfections with ease.
“It’s remarkable,” said Vashi, who is also a board-certified dermatologist. “What used to lie in the hands of . . . celebrities and beautiful people who were innately beautiful made to look more beautiful, now it’s in the hands of anyone.”
“Sometimes I have patients who say, ‘I want every single spot gone and I want it gone by this week or I want it gone tomorrow,’ because that’s what this filtered photograph gave them,” Vashi told the Post. “That’s not realistic. I can’t do that.”
Vashi also said that the heavy use of social media apps is causing people to become “more and more preoccupied, obsessed with … what we look like.”
“It can bring feelings of sadness and then if one really develops this disorder, that sadness clearly progresses to something that can be dangerous and alarming,” Vashi said.