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Profile pic preoccupation: Plastic surgeons report uptick in facial procedures from people who want to look better in Facebook photos

Profile pic preoccupation: Plastic surgeons report uptick in facial procedures from people who want to look better in Facebook photos

Many a sci-fi tale has explored the horrors of human-machine hybridity in a not-so-distant, alternative future. Often, we read these stories, gripped with terror -- but also take comfort in knowing that these are just stories. For now anyway.

Would it be too early to say that future is already approaching? Perhaps not in literal form. We’re not sporting bionic body parts en masse just yet (although it would be pretty great to have a portable subway hand that turns into a grip claw you can attach to the ceiling and hang from during sardine rush hour. Someone invent this, please.)

But so many people – particularly the young’uns – have little recollection of a reality they have not split between real life and the digital world. They may not recognize it as such as it’s all they know, but when was the last time you went to a party or a concert or a big event where at least 25 per cent of the attendees weren’t actively recording, documenting, tweeting or posting about it instead of giving themselves over fully to the simple experience of being there?

Back to the original topic. There’s now a consciousness of potentially being photographed and having that photograph posted to social media each time you leave the house that didn’t exist a decade ago. These photos are then viewed by people who make comments about the way you look in them. In some cases, the photos are public or semi-public and show up in search engines under your name. That’s why smart people have invested in flattering photo filter apps.

Even the least shallow among us can get caught up in it on some level, if only to feel a little more self conscious about a weak chin or slightly asymmetrical nostril and fantasize, even for a moment of self-indulgence, about fixing it. And before young people develop a wider, more mature concept of the world around them, where character and compassion and kindness and intelligence take on far more importance than a pretty face, they’re even more vulnerable to feelings of inferiority based on the superficial.

Also see: Forget face lifts -- arm lifts are the latest plastic surgery trend

So it’s with a degree of sadness, if not inevitability, that the American Academy of Facial and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) has reported a 31 per cent uptick in facial plastic surgery due to a desire to look more attractive in social media profile pictures.

Once the driving preoccupation of movie stars, the rest of us are now just as prone to being photographed and scrutinized as celebrities (if on a smaller but no less damaging scale), especially now that people can key in a few simple algorithms and pull up information about pretty much anyone.

The experts have taken note. “We live in a very visual world, and have come to expect that we will be ‘Googled’ or ‘Facebooked’ even before actually meeting someone socially or professionally,” says Dr. Sam Rizk, an AAFPRS member and director of Manhattan Facial Plastic Surgery in New York (via Time magazine).

“I see a lot of men and women who are executives or high profile so they are in the public eye. Their photos get taken all the time and they never know where they may end up. Between high definition television, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, how you look in photos and video clips has definitely become a driver for all cosmetic procedures from Botox to neck lifts.”

So to better, or at least more attractively, exist in this human-digital hybrid world, people are Botoxing, scraping, pulling, chiseling, plumping and suctioning in record numbers. Never mind that the more frequently surgically enhanced are less likely to look good in real life: Duck lips are not the look and everyone seems to come off the surgeon’s chair with the exact same Daffy pucker.

The same poll of 752 facial plastic surgeons revealed that nose jobs, facelifts and eyelid surgery top the list of most-requested procedures, while Botox on the forehead, cheeks and lips continue to put many surgeons’ children through college with 13 million Americans signing up for a bit of botulism last year.

Also see: South Koreans turning Asia into the plastic surgery capital of the world

As you can probably imagine, women still make up the bulk of facial surgery requesters, but men are taking a giant leap for plastic-kind with numbers up 27 per cent since 2011.

Despite a measure of awareness about the issue, however, Rizk doesn’t think the momentum will slow down.

“Whether you think it is harmful or not, it is a trend and I don’t think we will see it slowing down anytime soon,” he says. “There is the potential in some individuals with low self esteem and psychological issues to fixate on certain features, such as a prominent nose or a weak chin or a heavy neck. When the concern about your appearance or specific features starts to border on obsession, that can be a red flag.”

A number of ethical plastic surgeons have said they’re turning down patients who seem unhealthily fixated with correcting “flaws” just to look better in Facebook profile pictures.

A number of not-so-ethical ones will always be there to welcome them with open arms (and scalpels).

What do you think of the survey results? Will we ever see this physical preoccupation subside or is facial plastic surgery going to become a frequent fact of life as more of our lives move online?