"Beauty Sick": Plastic Surgeons Warn of Devastating Consequences of Teens Seeking Perfect Image

Will Maule : Aug 29, 2018
Faithwire

"When you are beauty sick, you cannot engage with the world, because between you and the world is a mirror. It's a mirror that travels with you everywhere. You can't seem to put it down." -Renee Engeln

[Faithwire.com] Plastic surgeons are becoming increasingly concerned by teenagers who are seeking to achieve a "perfect" face, much like the one they can attain through airbrushed Snapchat filters. (Image source: Screenshot/CNBC/via Faithwire)

Surgeons have said that "Snapchat dysmorphia" is becoming a nationwide issue among teens, according to new research from the Boston University School of Medicine. Researchers found that an increasing number of young people are asking cosmetic surgeons to make them look more like the artificially manufactured images they can create through apps like Snapchat and Instagram.

In a 2017 survey, The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that 55 percent of surgeons reported consulting with patients who desired to undergo expensive surgeries in order to achieve better selfie results. This was a 13 percent increase from the previous year, according to the Independent.

One expert called the bizarre phenomenon "remarkable" and warned that the effect of such photo editing apps can blur the lines between image fantasy and the stark reality of one's dermatological flaws.

"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," said Neelam Vashi, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Boston University School of Medicine. "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."

But instead of young people comparing themselves to their pop star idol or Hollywood pinup, our culture has become so self-obsessed that teenagers are actually aspiring to be a fake version of themselves.

Northwestern University psychology professor Renee Engeln, speaking in a 2013 Ted Talk, said that such a mindset can cause young people to become "beauty sick"... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here.

Click here to continue reading.