Photo by Elijah O’Donell on Unsplash
The screens dominating our lives have already began to alter and adjust our realities.
And now it’s going beyond FOMO and comparing our own lives to others’. We’re taking the insecurities that social media stokes and carrying them into the real world. The big problem with false perceptions online is that some are trying to make these unrealistic ideals a reality and alter themselves to fit their screens — literally.
The rising “Snapchat Dysmorphia” phenomenon is Exhibit A: more and more people are getting plastic surgery to look like edited photos. Because people are starting to prefer how they look with all the filters and adjustments.
Snapchat, of course, offers tons of filters to change the way our face looks, and apps like FaceTune have been created specifically to so that people can make themselves look “better” in photos.
Of course, some people’s livelihoods are based on how they appear on social media (*cough* Kylie Jenner) so it’s not all that surprising that they would surgically alter their looks to achieve the appearance they think they need.
And hey, who doesn’t want to look more photogenic? Especially if more people see you online than in real life — why not try to strive for the look that most people recognize you for?
But doctors say the looks you can get with filters are often unachieveable in real life. Someone could get all the plastic surgery they want and still not look just like they do with Photoshop.
The unrealistic beauty standards brought on by apps can lead people to not appreciate themselves for who they actually are. One could end up forever unhappy with their natural self.