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February 13, 2020 3:10 pm
Plastic surgery inspired by filters and photo editing apps isn't going away
And yet, that trend -- often referred to as "Snapchat Dysmorphia" -- only continues to grow despite the concerns about it, experts say.
Some, like public relations executive Karla Barbosa, are proudly embracing the concept. She recently broadcast her treatment of a gold microinfusion facial -- a procedure that uses small needles to reduce the size of pores and with the intention of making the skin look airbrushed -- to her more than 31,000 followers.
"It's like a real-life filter for your face," she captioned the clip. "Seriously. GLASS SKIN." As Barbosa explained to CNN Business, "If you want to tweak a photo a bit more to feel a bit more confident ... or get a facial or botox filler to make you feel more confident ... that's up to the person and how they feel."
Barbosa's New York City-based plastic surgeon Dr. Lara Devgan -- whose videos of gold microinfusion facials have received thousands of likes on Instagram -- told CNN Business half of her patients now come into her practice with reference images of themselves that are either edited or filtered. Instead of asking for the nose or chin of a certain celebrity, patients are now largely bringing in edited photos of their own faces, Devgan said.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons confirmed anecdotes like this are increasingly common from plastic surgeons across the country, but was unable to share any specific data around the trend at this time.
The trend of receiving cosmetic procedures inspired by edited photos posted across sites such as Instagram and Snapchat has been subject to scrutiny for potentially perpetuating an unrealistic obsession with correcting subjective flaws. The term Snapchat Dysmophia is related to a mental health condition called body dysmorphic disorder (BBD) in which a person can spend hours thinking about their minor or perceived physical flaws, whether it's skin imperfections, weight or a crooked smile. BBD, which often causes emotional distress and interferes with daily activities, affects one in 50 people, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
"I strongly believe that we have to properly investigate the impact that [apps and filters] might be having on different groups who are more vulnerable of their appearances," Dr. Kamleshun Ramphul, author of the 2018 white paper "Is Snapchat Dysmorphia a real issue?," told CNN Business. "Do teenagers know that these filters don't reflect changes they need and do these filters make them feel 'ugly' and 'ashamed' of their current appearance? We need more research to answer these questions."
The trend arguably highlights the power that social media platforms have to shape not just the way we see the world but the way we see ourselves. It's a power that some platforms are currently grappling with. Last year, Instagram announced it was banning filters that promote cosmetic surgery amid reports that they can negatively impact the way users feel about their appearance.
And yet, across social media and on popular photo editing apps, users are given tools to whiten teeth, remove blemishes or reshape facial features. In China, photo beautfication features are so popular they come built-in on some Vivo, Oppo, Huawei and Xiaomi devices.
Despite very real concerns, some experts argue the trend is a slight improvement over how people previously approached plastic surgery, specifically as it related to patients bringing in modified pictures of themselves in lieu of celebrity photos.
Ramphul said that is a "positive change in that aspect." Alka Menon, assistant professor of sociology at Yale University, agrees: "If using Instagram and Snapchat filters gives patients more clarity and control in articulating what they want and confidence in communicating their desires to cosmetic surgeons, that is a positive step."
But they still caution the technology may encourage people to make more unnecessary changes to their appearance or cause them to lose perspective of what they really look like.
Not surprisingly, the plastic surgery community has been vocal about changing the narrative around the trend's perception. "[It was originally perceived] in an extremely dismissive way -- that people on social media are so messed up that we want to look like filtered selfies," Devgan said. "But it's the opposite. We're finally not trying to look like someone else. We're trying to be the most confident, best versions of ourselves."
Devgan said the most popular procedure requests are for around the eye area, such as helping to remove dark circles or tweaking how the eyebrows fall -- a popular focus in many beauty editing apps.
According to The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, about $16.5 billion was spent on plastic surgery last year -- a record high. The industry continues to grow year over year for the past few years, helped along in part by these types of procedures.
"Minimally invasive procedures often cost less; however, they require more maintenance," a spokesperson from the organization told CNN Business. "So, the spend sometimes isn't significantly cheaper -- and because more people are willing to undergo a minimally invasive procedure, there's an increase in the number of patients. This also contributes to the increased spend on plastic surgery over the years."
Because celebrities and other social media users like Barbosa are more openly talking about their interest around cosmetic procedures and their editing habits, it has helped decrease the stigma around these topics in recent years, Devgan added.
Alexandra Hamlet, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute in New York City who specializes in mood and anxiety disorders, argues that, although wanting to look like the best version of yourself has long been part of human nature (think padded bras and fake eyelashes), the apps can be particularly harmful for people with obsessive compulsive tendencies or more pronounced anxieties about their appearances.
"Photo editing apps can exacerbate these symptoms because the imagined look becomes possible via these editing apps," Hamlet said. "For virtually no money and in the privacy of your own screen, you get an instant (fleeting) boost of self esteem by editing a photo and posting it."
Sociology expert Menon also cautions advocating for these types of procedures could influence other people to make these types of changes to the way they look.
"With the rise of social media, who can be an influencer or celebrity is expanded, so there's a potential proliferation of beauty ideals with social media," Menon said. "But given that we don't always know what's behind Instagram editing algorithms, relying on social media filters for surgical inspiration can run into the limits of what is possible or desirable to do with the human body and reinforce damaging stereotypes about what is beautiful."
February 13, 2020 4:35 pm
There's a filter on instagram that is literally called "plastic surgery." These filters can make people feel bad when they see themselves one way and then the filter comes off and they see something else that makes them unhappy.
October 30, 2021 5:39 pm
@mikaylaalleniectskin-com Yes I agree with you the filters are extremely damaging! Especially for these young girls who are on social media all the time.
November 7, 2021 5:29 pm
I can personally say that there are times i dont even want to take a picture without a snapchat or instagram filter. Most of those times its because i dont have makeup on , but i will say there are a lot of filters that completely change your whole face. I dont use the ones that make you look like a completely different person, i use the ones that enhance my complexion mostly because i have red skin without makeup.
November 7, 2021 5:36 pm
It is an interesting concept that plastic surgeons think this can be looked at as a positive improvement, im on the fence about it. However i can agree that liking an improved version of yourself is better than fantasizing over a celebrity who youll never look like.
February 5, 2022 5:16 pm
I have a love hate relationship with filters. I love them because it can make any picture or video look flawless but I also hate them because when I look at myself in a picture or video without them compared to how I look with a filter, it makes me self conscious at times.
March 23, 2022 11:20 pm
I personally think a lot of the filters "over filter" faces to the point where people become unrecognizable. I think that is just going too far. Sometimes I wonder if (non celebrity) people using these apps even realize that they dont actually look like that. lol I sometimes use the filters on istagram, especially when I dont have a spray tan and my husband always says.. "That doesnt look like you" or "you look different in every picture. He is right.
March 23, 2022 11:23 pm
@abigailcochraneiectskin-com Yes! There is a girl i know from high school and every picture she post with filters, looks nothing like she does in person. If someone met her for the first time after seeing her pictures online, they would totally feel catfished. The filters are crazy! I also just like the simple ones, that give a nice glow!
March 23, 2022 11:27 pm
@abigailcochraneiectskin-com This has got to be a selling point for them, otherwise i cant see why plastic surgeons would be supportive of the apps with major filters. A plastic surgeon, especially one with a big instragram following could say "You don't like this about your face....You like your face better with this filter, why not permanently change the way you look to feel better about yourself?" People using these apps and filters are probably plastic surgeons target audience.
May 25, 2023 2:23 pm
It is extremely scary how advanced filters have gotten. They can change your whole face and oftentimes the user doesn't even realize it. I think it can be very harmful because it can cause users to become self conscious or prefer their face with a filter on.
May 25, 2023 2:24 pm
@tristasensemaniectskin-com I wonder about this all the time about celebrities. Most of us will never see celebrities in real life so they could look completely different from what we see online. I think it creates unrealistic standards.
June 14, 2023 8:21 pm
filters become more and more realistic. I have mixed feelings about them. They can be fun, make your skin look flawless, have a pretty makeup look, enhance certain features, etc. This also comes with people getting insecure and self conscious without the filters on. This can also lead to leaving unrealistic standards for others.
June 14, 2023 8:22 pm
@oliviarossiectskin-com it does! The filters with the photo editing on celebrity photos can be very misleading.
June 14, 2023 8:25 pm
@tristasensemaniectskin-com True! Filters can be fun when they add a pop of color to what you're taking a picture of, or to enhance features. Sometimes filters can be too much and the person can be unrecognizable.
August 8, 2023 1:08 pm
people have to remember that social media is not real life. It's so sad seeing young men and women becoming insecure when filters are supposed to be a cute and fun thing to do, never set unrealistic standards of your own natural beauty.
August 8, 2023 1:12 pm
@tristasensemaniectskin-com I agree, it's one thing to want plastic surgery, & minor adjustment to change your natural beauty, but wanting so much of it to look like an instagram/snapchat filter is unrealistic.
August 8, 2023 1:14 pm
@madisonmauldiniectskin-com exactly, and almost every photo on the internet nowadays has some sort of filter on it, whether it's photoshopping the body, face, or using a filter.
October 20, 2023 11:51 pm
Social media is filled with filters these days and introducing AI it is hard to deter what is real and what is fake. Also people will not post bad photos of themselves so keeping up with the standards is next to impossible.
October 20, 2023 11:57 pm
@abigailcochraneiectskin-com While its also a better standpoint to fantasize about the better version of yourself its also scary because with those alterations you may not recognize yourself
October 20, 2023 11:58 pm
@tristasensemaniectskin-com some filters are so fake its laughable. while others are scary accurate. I think we should ban them everywhere
October 23, 2023 2:03 pm
A couple years ago I found a filter on Snapchat that made me look a certain way that I loved. I didn't take a single photo without it. Seeing myself without it made me so upset. Teenage years are extremely developmental times in anyones lives, I think these filters can be harmful for a young persons self image and could cause long term issues such as body dysmorphia that I still struggle with years later.
October 23, 2023 2:05 pm
@daniellesmithiectskin-com The "standards" are constantly changing and it is all sadly, based off of basically lies. Photos that are posted have been edited to the point of being unrecognizable. Many people take it too far.
October 23, 2023 2:06 pm
@madisonmauldiniectskin-com Yes! I think they can be cute and fun but some of them become overly used and can do more harm than good.
October 23, 2023 7:19 pm
photo filters and editing apps are supposed to be used for fun, a lot of us get caught up with social media beauty standards that it becomes unhealthy, it's happened to everyone, knowing your real beauty and worth is the goal
October 23, 2023 7:26 pm
@karyssamarleriectskin-com I totally agree! everyone needs to realize social media is not real life
April 23, 2024 3:13 pm
Filters are a fake version of people! Then, when others look at the persons feed, they can feel bad about themselves. It is a whole culture that I don't understand. Fake is not real! Real, in my opinion, is worth something.
