'Snapchat Dysmorphia': The latest plastic surgery trend inspired by social media filters has doctors worried
A troubling new plastic surgery trend based on the social media obsession with filters and photo-editing apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Facetune have raised red flags with scientists.
According to a new study published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery Viewpoint, ‘Snapchat Dysmorphia’ is the latest phenomena where patients seek out plastic surgery to look like edited images of themselves and celebrities.
The term was coined by London-based cosmetic doctor, Dr. Tijon Esho, who says the normalization of filtered images and the changing idea of ‘perfection’ is triggering Body Dismorphic-like behaviours in a majority of the patients he sees.
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“Young people, particularly in the 18 to 25 group of patients, have stopped offering celebrity photos. Instead, they will bring in filtered versions of themselves,” Dr. Esho explains. “They are using apps to make their nose look straighter, their skin look better, their lips look larger, their jaw-line look tighter.”
Esho reveals he will turn patients away if he feels as though they are displaying dysmorphic like tendencies.
“We now see photos of ourselves daily via the social platforms we use, which arguably makes us more critical of ourselves. Patients using pictures of celebrities or Snapchat-filtered versions of themselves as reference points is okay,” he says. “The danger is when this is not just a reference point, but it becomes how the patient sees themselves, or the patient wants to look exactly like that image.”
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According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, Body Dismorphic Disorder is form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that effects approximately 1 in 50 people. People with BDD are often fixated with a perceived bodily imperfection that can disrupt daily activities, and cause a sufferer to become obsessed with improving, or hiding their ‘flaw.’
In the recently published JAMA study, plastic surgeons in the United States reported an increase in patients who sought procedures to improve the look of their selfies from 42 percent in 2015, to 55 per cent in 2016.
Dr. Naleem Vashi, Boston University Cosmetic and Laser Centre, says instead of treating patients who exhibit signs of Snapchat Dysmorphia, doctors should be recommending counselling to help treat their patient’s underlying mental health issues.
“Filtered selfies can make people lose touch with reality, creating the expectation we are supposed to look perfectly primped all the time,” Dr Vashi revealed. “This can be especially harmful for teens and those with BDD, and it is important for providers to understand the implications of social media on body image to better treat and counsel our patients.”
Dr. Esho echoes Dr. Vashi’s advice. “Further questions should be asked to screen for any element of body dysmorphia,” He said. “Treating patients that do show those red flags is not only unethical, but also detrimental to the patient, as they need something that no needle or scalpel can ever provide.”
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