The Influence of Social Media on the Cosmetic Surgery Trends

Social media platforms have become like our mirrors. Social media is a space you get to share your lifestyle and interact with the lives of others from all over the world, even celebrities and influencers. This insider view into people’s personal lives has prompted increased cosmetic surgery trends in recent years.

In the past, cosmetic surgeries were primarily associated with top celebrities and influencers. However, through social media, people get to have an almost intimate association with these celebrities. Thus, the desire to look like their idols has become something they pursue. Through the influence of these personalities online, people have started normalizing cosmetic procedures, and they try to achieve the specific facial structures and body types of the celebrity they look up to.

A survey by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery shows an increase of 15% in cosmetic surgery for people to look good in selfies and Instagram posts. Social media plays a pivotal role in affecting the growth of plastic surgery because it’s leveraging on the aspirations of people – young and old.

Surgeons report that prospective patients will come in for a consultation after seeing a heavily-filtered ad or photoshopped pictures from either an Instagram post or any social media platform and request help to achieve the same look.

Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, people have had more time and money on their hands, and they’ve redirected these to getting plastic surgery. So this was the most appropriate time to undergo a given procedure.

Spending a lot of time in the house meant spending a lot of time being self-conscious and more self-aware. In addition, through Zoom meetings and online gatherings or parties, they spent a lot of time staring at themselves, and this over-exposure led to the desire to improve their appearances.

Working from home was also an added advantage since it gave people time to heal longer and more comfortably, without the pressure of getting back to the office immediately.

A popular procedure during this time is breast augmentation. This involves improving or enhancing the breast through silicone or saline breast implants. This procedure enhances the breast size or shape and makes changes in its symmetry. This helps boost most people’s confidence.

Due to the influence of so many celebrities who have done this procedure, many women also desire to achieve these picture-perfect bodies with fuller breasts and experience the confidence boost that comes with the surgery results.

Social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat are among the most influential media in increasing cosmetic surgeries. This is because these platforms involve the use of images more compared with written words. Therefore, since they are visual applications, people will focus on people’s physical appearance.

According to the social-cultural theory, beauty standards are gained and learned within the social-cultural context. Social media seems to be driving cultural and social norms in today’s world. This can be a dangerous move since most social media will have unrealistic physical features influenced by photoshops and filters. This will prompt people into having unrealistic bodies and norms.

Social media is one of the top reasons cosmetic surgery is suddenly on the rise —the need to get a good physical appearance to match up to their favorite celebrities and improve their confidence in their bodies.