The (Disturbing) Plastic Surgery Trend Inspired By Snapchat

In the past, people would arrive at their plastic surgeon’s office with a brief description of what they wanted to look like — or a photograph of a celebrity that they wished they looked more like.

Now, people are showing their plastic surgeons photographs of themselves taken on Snapchat. The app distorts faces, which can make your cheeks look thinner, your eyes look bigger, and your jaw look more defined. It shows you an ‘ideal’ appearance.

These seemingly fun and harmless filters have actually led to a new mental illness called Snapchat Dysmorphia. Dr Esho, who coined the phrase, has said:

“Many believed these changes to their face with filters at a click of button were so easy, this would be the case in real life.

This is a very unrealistic and also dangerous expectation, as it trivializes procedures which are potentially high risk and it also sets up patients to live with unrealistic expectations of how they see themselves physically.”

Basically, some people assume getting plastic surgery is as simple and easy as Snapchat makes it seem, without taking into account the healing time and potential risks associated with certain procedures.

The even bigger problem is that people are more insecure now than ever before, because instead of comparing themselves to real people, they are comparing themselves to unrealistic images of friends and celebrities with unobtainable proportions.

Even though taking a pretty picture with the help of a Snapchat filter could raise your confidence temporarily, it could twist your view of reality and hurt your self-esteem in the long run.