In today’s world, social media has become an integral part of our lifestyle. The number of social media users and our amount of social media usage are both growing. However, plastic surgeons have observed another trend with our world today. More and more people, a lot of them under the age of 30, are seeking plastic surgery. In fact, instead of showing up to their appointments with photos of celebrities, as was the norm in the past, more patients walk into clinics with filtered selfies of themselves as what they want to achieve. This syndrome is known as Snapchat Dysmorphia. At it’s most severe, people with this disorder may want to surgically alter their appearance to look more like the pictures they post online. Dysmorphia refers to the disorder where someone is constantly worrying about perceived flaws in ones appearance.
So, what exactly causes Snapchat Dysmorphia?
Snapchat Dysmorphia is caused by the disconnect between people’s appearance in real life compared to what they look like in the filtered selfies they post. Just like they worry about their likes and followers on social media, users are also starting to worry about why they don’t look like their selfies in real life. More and more people today are thinking, “hey, I want to look like that”, and actually going to great lengths to get there. Statistics show that there is a clear link between social media use and depression and self-esteem issues. Social Media plays a large role in setting unrealistic beauty standards as people are constantly comparing themselves to the pictures of other people they see online as well as the images of themselves that they share with the world.
Social media is a great way to connect with people across the world, but excessive use of it can cause a lot of issues that are detrimental. Some good ways to change your social media habits include giving yourself breaks from social media. In fact, if you haven’t started using platforms like this, then you might want to consider not getting into them at all. Before you pick up your phone and start scrolling, ask yourself why you’re opening the app and what you need to find or accomplish. There are many disorders, including Snapchat Dysmorphia, that are caused by social media, but healthy usage of it can limit the impact these applications have on us.
