Snapchat Filters Are Causing Some People To Want Plastic Surgery
Another new trend is cosmetic surgery has to do with all those filters on Snapchat, and how some people want to look more like their virtual appearance.
By DAVID on August 6, 2018
Users of Snapchat are starting to “expect” their appearance to more closely resemble their filters. We’re not talking about the flower-halos obviously. It’s more the smoothed-skin, fuller lips, and thinner nose type of filters. Also, plastic surgery seems like a less drastic thing to do these days thanks to social media and reality TV. It’s almost just a regular thing people have done, like going to the dentist.
Doctors have come up with a new term – “Snapchat Dysmorphia.” That literally means that people are trying to look like they do on Snapchat. Like with makeup, the filters make skin look smoother, younger, change color tone, etc. “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.” That quote is from an article written by doctors from Boston University School of Medicine. Obviously you can see the concern with this “modified version” of body dysmorphic disorder. Doctors are even recommending therapy and similar treatments to anxiety disorders.
When some people are looking into mirrors, they’re not seeing what they see on Snapchat. Truly nobody does, but everyone reacts differently to that. That’s what’s leading people to plastic surgery. They’re trying to physically achieve what the filters do virtually. Remember when people were getting nose surgeries because of selfies? Same sort of perception. People noticed their nose looked bigger in selfies and were getting reduction surgery. In reality, it was just the phone’s camera that was distorting the nose, making it appear larger. Check out a lot more info on Snapchat Dysmorphia here.
The bottom line is that the filters are supposed to be a fun way to share a photo or selfie video. The filters aren’t supposed to be a standard to measure your beauty. The unfortunate thing is that filters are becoming less about the fun, and more about vanity and competition.
