Selfies driving people to go under the knife: Study

Turns out that selfie obsession is pushing people to change their looks. “These days, people want to look exactly the way their selfies portray them. These selfies, however, are taken from a certain angle or edited with a beauty app. I see a lot of them coming to our clinic for cosmetic surgeries to get the look of these manipulated pictures,” says Dr Debraj Shome, facial plastic and cosmetic surgeon and Director of The Esthetic Clinics, a nationwide chain of clinics for cosmetic surgery and skin care.

The clinic has recently conducted a first-of-its-kind study in India to understand the psychological effects of taking and posting selfies on social media.

The research, which involved 300 people from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, found that the process of taking, altering and posting selfies negatively affects people’s self-esteem and body image perception. The study participants had visited the clinic’s respective branches to undergo cosmetic procedures with the aim of alter their looks. “Rhinoplasty (a surgery that changes the shape of the nose), blepharoplasty (a surgery that is done on eyelids), hair transplant, liposuction and hair transplant are the most demanded cosmetic procedures for look alterations,” says Dr Shome.

The psychological impact

The study found that people were not happy after posting their selfies on social media. Contrarily, they reported feelings of physical inadequacy, increased anxiety and reduced confidence. All these feelings were persistent even when the selfies were touched with beauty apps. “This heightened feeling of inadequacy is what is actually pushing people to try and change the way they look, through cosmetic surgery,” explains Dr Shome.

In this study, conducted through October and November 2018, the emotions of the participants were rated on a visual analogue chart. They represented both the genders, fell in the age bracket of 18-40 years and used iPhone 6 for the experiment. They were divided into three groups: One group was supposed to upload unedited selfies, the second group posted selfies retouched with an app called YouCam Perfect and the third was the control group who didn’t take selfies. Each candidate took two selfies, one close-up of the face and another full-length shot.

Fact file

•             Increase in anxiety among people who took and posted selfies: 60% men, 65 % of women

•             Decrease in confidence among them: 61% men, 70% of women

•             Feeling of physical inadequacy in this group: 61% men, 67% of women

•             Desire to change looks through cosmetic surgery among them: 62% men, 65% women

•             Instances were the highest in Delhi and the least in Kolkata

 Body dysmorphic disorder and selfie obsession

The tendency of constantly obsessing and stressing about one or more perceived flaws in one’s appearance, a flaw which is hardly visible to others, is known as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Individuals with BDD constantly seek reassurance about their appearance, check the mirror repeatedly, and believe that everybody around them makes a special note of their flawed appearance. They also make attempts to hide the perceived defect by using makeup, cosmetic surgeries, or styling. ”

 The process of taking, altering and posting selfies negatively affects self-esteem and body image perception, and promotes body dysmorphia,” says Dr Shome. This condition can even impact an individual’s functionalities too. “High body dissatisfaction is the primary risk factor for the development of eating disorders and is correlated with depression. Interventions that aim to eliminate the harmful effects of social media engagement on one’s mental makeup need to be implemented. Addiction to phones and selfies may create a mentally unstable next generation,” adds Dr Shome.