‘Snapchat Dysmorphia’: Edited Selfies Drive Plastic Surgery Trend

Social media feeds showing selfies of people with flawless skin, plump lips and wide eyes are not only shifting how we feel about ourselves and lowering our self-esteem, but also blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, according to a new study.

Imperfections are edited away with a quick swipe using applications like Snapchat and Facetune, allowing users to present to the world the best edited versions of themselves, according to researchers from Boston University School of Medicine’s department of dermatology whose findings were recently published in the journal JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.

In the past, plastic surgeons were asked by their patients to make them the dopplegangers of the celebrities whose airbrushed photos set the standards of beauty. But now, with editing programs and filters part of everyone’s technological arsenal, are more likely to ask surgeons to fix their beaks to make them look like they do in selfies than to give them a nose like Natalie Portman's.

“A new phenomenon, dubbed ‘Snapchat dysmorphia,’ has patients seeking out cosmetic surgery to look like filtered versions of themselves instead, with fuller lips, bigger eyes, or a thinner nose,” the authors wrote. “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.”

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In most cases, plastic surgeons aren’t able to recreate reproduce the flawless selfies through surgeries, Neelam Vashi, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Boston University School of Medicine and one of the article's authors, told The Washington Post.

“Sometimes I have patients who say, ‘I want every single spot gone and I want it gone by this week or I want it gone tomorrow’ because that’s what this filtered photograph gave them,” she told the Post. “They check off one thing, and it’s gone. That’s not realistic. I can’t do that. I can make people a lot better, but it will take me a lot more time than a week and it won’t be 100 percent.”

Experts worry obsession over selfie appearance could trigger body dysmorphic disorder — a mental illness classified on the obsessive-compulsive spectrum manifested as an excessive preoccupation with a perceived flaw that goes beyond an insecurity or a lack of confidence.

“Those with BDD go to great lengths to hide their imperfections, engage in repetitive behaviors like skin picking or grooming, and may visit dermatologists or plastic surgeons frequently, hoping to change their appearance,” the authors wrote.

Their findings correspond with those in an earlier study that looked at body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls that found those who manipulated their photos more reported a higher level of concern with their bodies an an overestimation of body shape and weight. That study also suggested those with a dysmorphic body image may seek out social media as a means of validating their attractiveness.

And those with higher level of engagement on social media, including those actively trying to present a specific image of oneself or analyzing or commenting on others’ photos may have a higher level of body dissatisfaction.

The trend among patients to seek reconstructive surgery to improve their appearance in selfies was first identified in the 2017 Annual American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. In that survey, 55 percent of surgeons reported seeing patients who wanted plastic surgery for that reason, up from 42 percent in 2015.

The survey also found an increase in the number of patients sharing their surgical processes on social media and noted a change in the presenting concerns of patients. Before the surge in the popularity of selfies, the most common reason cited patients who sought rhinoplasty was to correct a bump on their noses.

Now, patients nasal and facial asymmetry are common reasons for seeking rhinoplasties. Also popular are hair transplants and eyelid surgical procedures to improve selfie appearance.

In those cases where BDD has been identified, surgery won’t improve and may even worsen the disorder, the authors wrote. In those cases, a better approach is psychological intervention, whether through cognitive behavioral therapy, antidepressant drugs or a combination of the two, the authors wrote.

“Management of the disorder should also include an empathetic and nonjudgmental approach by the clinician,” they wrote.

Some of the ubiquitous filters and photo editing applications relatively harmless. Snapchat has nearly two dozen filters and some, like those that allow people to add flowers, animal ears and hearts, are relatively harmless, but it also allows them to lengthen their eyelashes, blot out their freckles and create flawless skin.

Other apps allow for more subtle changes that speak to growing pressure to look a certain way. For example, Facetune, which has been compared in quality to Photoshop “in the palm of your hand, but significantly less expensive at $3.99, can fix a litany of perceived problems, from making teeth look brighter or decreasing the size of a person’s forehead, nose or waist.

“It can be argued that these apps are making us lose touch with reality because we expect to look perfectly primped and filtered in real life as well,” the authors wrote. “Filtered selfies especially can have harmful effects on adolescents or those with BDD because these groups may more severely internalize this beauty standard. It is important for clinicians to understand the implications of social media on body image and self-esteem to better treat and counsel their patients.”

Photo by Peter MacDiarmid / Shutterstock