Does Social Media Lead To More Plastic Surgery?

Everything in the world has made the bold move to social media. We have a constant stream of access to the lives of our peers. This continuous exposure of people's lives can lead to a number of problems, the most serious of which being self doubt.

Just think: How often have you stared at someone’s Instagram pictures, picking apart every aspect of it? You wonder how many filters were applied, if that person actually looks that good, and if the person in the picture would look just as good in person. Don’t lie. We’ve all done it before.

Since everyone has taken part in this behavior, does it affect society as a whole? A new study suggests yes. According to a survey conducted by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, social media has led Americans to become even more conscious of our "flaws."

A poll of 752 of the organization’s facial plastic surgeons found that there was a 31 percent increase in requests for surgery as a result of social-media photo sharing.

“Thanks to photo sharing sites like Facebook and Instagram, patients are seeing themselves more often in photographs, which in turn increases the probability of them discovering flaws and focusing on insecurities,” said New York facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon Sam Rizk, M.D. “The photos presented on social media are often the first impression you are offering to new ‘friends’ and prospective employers, so everyone wants to be seen as beautiful and youthful.”

I can definitely account for this claim. Every time I take a picture with a group of girls, we all storm the photographer immediately afterwards, crying “Let me see it!!” and demanding it gets deleted if our nose looks .34% bigger than we would like.

Unfortunately, I don’t see an end to this nonsense (that I’m most certainly guilty of myself) anytime soon.

Photo Credit: Getty Images