Boston, Mass., Aug 12, 2018 / 15:56 pm
Social media is increasingly making teens dissatisfied with their appearance and obsessed with achieving a filtered version of "perfection," even going so far as to pursue plastic surgery, say medical professionals.
Dr. Neelam Vashi, director of Ethnic Skin Center at Boston University's School of Medicine, published an article analyzing the new trend in Jama Facial Plastic Surgery last week.
"A new phenomenon, dubbed 'Snapchat dysmorphia,' has patients seeking out cosmetic surgery to look like filtered versions of themselves…with fuller lips, bigger eyes, or a thinner nose," she said.
Among Snapchat's more popular features are its facial filters, which change users' appearance in a phone camera. New filters are offered regularly. Some change a person's face to look like animals, superheroes, or inanimate objects. Others create a more subtle, modified version of the users themselves – smoothing their skin, whitening their teeth, narrowing their face, enhancing their lips and eyes.