Actual Self vs Online Self
High levels of engagement with social media shown to correlate with increased body dissatisfaction.
Real self vs online self. The blurring of this distinction and the resulting psychological consequences have been increasingly apparent people in general and have contributed to the desire to achieve an online look through cosmetic procedures.
Study results indicated that 72.5% of the female participants compared their body to the images they view on social media. The results also indicated that “rates of negative body images among social media users were higher based on the user’s own internalization of messages and images. The higher one’s internalization level, the more likely they were to experience negative body image and body dissatisfaction” (Bell, 2016)
Our increasing social media and digital lives have resulted in the emergence of newly recognised dysmorphic disorders Including Snapchat and Zoom Dysmorphias.
Snapchat Dysmorphia
Snapchat filters allow us to view an idealised version of ourselves that can alter self-perception to a pathological extent in vulnerable individuals.
Snapchat and Instagram filters inspire many young women to alter their face and body due to the way these filters make them feel and how it hides their imperfections.
Advertising standards around filtered/optimised images. In Feb 2021 the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that influencers, brands and celebrities should not apply image-altering filters to social media advertisements for beauty products if they exaggerate the efficacy of the product and determined that filtered beauty content could be “misleading”. This is in recognition of the detrimental impact of self-comparison to unattainable beauty standards particularly in young people who are developing in their self-image and associated self-esteem.
Patients have brought images from Snapchat and other filtered social media images as aspirational treatment goals when requesting aesthetic treatment. This needs to be fully considered in the consultation of the patient and determination of realistic expectations and corresponding suitability for treatment.
Zoom Dysmorphia
The excess use of videoconferencing during COVID has impacted on self-image and self-esteem. The enforced physical scrutiny has left those with a predisposition to preoccupation with body image vulnerable to the development of dysmorphic and other mental health disorders. Dysmorphia in the social media age has now been turbocharged by the mass use of excess video conferencing which has been forced on us. Patients have named their appearance on Zoom as a reason to seek treatment particularly acne and wrinkles. During real-life conversations, people do not see their faces speaking and displaying emotions, and do not compare their faces side-by-side to others like they do on video calls. cameras can distort video quality and create an inaccurate representation of true appearance.
They may perceive themselves as sad because of the wrinkles they see, which further negatively affects their emotions, leading to a dangerous cycle of self-deprecation, this is the basis of the facial feedback hypothesis. This becomes a major concern when an individual becomes excessively preoccupied with real or imagined defects.
Blurring of the real world and online realities fuelled by the social media age and the massive increase in digital self-scrutiny enforced by COVID videoconferencing has resulted in a clear increase in body dissatisfaction and incidence of body dysmorphia.
There are many psychological factors which can contribute to a patients desire to have cosmetic treatments. The holistic assessment of a patient must include screening for any mental health symptoms or disorders. A failure to understand relevant aspects of a patients mental health or psychological state will likely lead to poorer outcomes following any cosmetic treatment.
Having the required knowledge of psychological and mental health dynamics allows medical professionals to develop a much better understanding of their patients and will lead to significantly better doctor-patient relationships. Patients who feels their aesthetic doctor has this knowledge and has taken the time to understand their motivations and psychological contributors to their aesthetic goals are likely to have a better experience. As all aesthetic medical professionals know, managing patient expectations and facilitating clear and open communication is key to their patients satisfaction.
Dr Azoo puts the health and overall wellbeing of his patients at the forefront of any decision he makes. He will not perform a cosmetic procedure on anyone who I believe is having it unnecessarily, whether that’s through addiction, coercion or inappropriate psychological drivers. Dr Azoo believes that everyone is beautiful just the way they are, and that cosmetic treatments should be used to complement a person’s individual and natural beauty.