How the selfie has changed social reactions to cosmetic surgery

At Cosmetic Surgery Partners clinic in London, we have noticed there is a growing obsession with the nature of taking the perfect ‘selfie’, it’s a topic rife in the media and day to day discussion. We’ve also noticed a trend of patient’s seeking (and feeling increasingly pressured) to have cosmetic surgery because of this reflective culture obsessed with looks, although we don’t agree with this being a prime reason to seek cosmetic surgery we thought it would be a good topic to discuss in our latest article.

First impressions count. With these impressions now tending to come from social media, dating apps and other parts of the online world rather than face to face, the advent of the ‘selfie’ has brought with it a magnified attention to appearance and with that comes a desire to improve or deal with perceived flaws in looks and appearance via cosmetic surgery.

Snapping a picture of you and your friends before a night out, the first instinct isn’t to have a laugh at how much fun you’re all having but to immediately check the picture to see how you look. Does my nose look too big? Where did all those wrinkles come from? For some, it can be a frightening visualisation.

There is after all a natural connection between looking good and feeling great, so it’s not surprising we do our best to look good to feel confident, however there are some aspects of our physical appearance that no amount of natural exercise or dieting can address. For these reasons a patient may consider seeking cosmetic surgery to address these perceived physical imperfections.

Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery

Whereas cosmetic surgery was previously viewed by the majority of the public as unobtainable to anyone but the rich and famous – and even then nothing more than a glamorous and excessive life style accessory for the likes of Pamela Anderson, Anna Nicole Smith or Michael Jackson – in recent times social reactions to cosmetic surgery have changed and started to become more accepted. This is due in part to the staggering growth of the internet and the wealth of advice and quality services available.

With these factors in mind, more and more people are turning to cosmetic procedures to improve these perceived imperfections – whether that is the ever popular nose job, wrinkle reduction or breast enlargement it seems that for some appearance and self-esteem boosting is a number one concern in 2017.

With the normalisation of cosmetic procedures it has ceased to be the taboo subject it once was, and with the constant cycle of images of yourself, friends, and celebrities bombarding you via news-feeds and social media on a daily basis this constant reminder of appearance may be the very thing spurring people on to undergo cosmetic procedures.

Debate around Cosmetic Surgery

But if cosmetic surgery has become more accepted in 2017, that doesn’t mean it can’t still incite debate. One needs to only look at frequent media articles about celebrities and the furore around showcasing their ‘new’ appearances at red carpet events for a prime example of its divisive nature.

A good example of this was Renée Zellweger appearing at a red carpet event for the release of the new Bridget Jones’s diary installment, Ms Zellweger was slimmed down and facially almost unrecognisable to the woman we had seen in films such as the previous Bridget Jones’s Diary and Jerry Maguire. While she attributed her transformation to “living a different, happy, more fulfilling life” other people saw evidence of plastic surgery and deplored the drive for eternal youth.

Cosmetic surgery has become part of modern day popular culture, and it would seem everyone has got an opinion on it.

Taking the right approach when seeking Cosmetic Surgery

It is important to note that though cosmetic surgery may have lost its once taboo status, it is still an activity that carries potential risks and is therefore never a decision to be taken lightly. The same goes for seemingly trivial non-surgical procedures such as wrinkle reduction. Even having non-surgical treatments such wrinkle reduction (Botulinum Toxin) can carry their share of potential risk if carried out by untrained and unregulated practitioners.

At Cosmetic Surgery Partners, to the dismay of some, we are rather stringent about who we admit for cosmetic procedures, simply claiming that you want surgery to take the perfect selfie or look like a given celebrity usually isn’t a reason that grants admission. We believe in enhancing the patient’s natural beauty and restoring confidence rather than trying to make you look like someone else.

Our surgeons pride themselves on being able to produce natural looking results, we aim to give patients results that keep people guessing and that are hard to detect. We also believe that an educated patient gets the best results, this means carefully explaining every aspect of the procedure and managing patient’s expectations about what is and is not possible.

The first step for patients seeking cosmetic surgery at our London based clinic is to book a consultation with one of our fully accredited cosmetic surgeons to discuss the procedure you are interested in to make sure it is in fact, the right decision for you.

If you would like any further information prior to booking a consultation we invite prospective patients to give our friendly and experienced staff a call to discuss any aspect of your desired cosmetic surgery procedure. Feel free to give our London based clinic a call on 020 7486 6778 where our staff will be more than happy to advise you and answer any questions you may have, we also provide online consultations which you can have from the comfort of you own home or office as we appreciate that busy lifestyles can leave us with little free time.