Plastic surgeons are receiving more visits from people who are requesting nose jobs. Apparently, these requests stem from a distortion created by selfies.
People now want to fix the way they look despite that it's the camera's fault.
Nasal Distortion
A new study shows that selfies cause a distortion, making noses look bigger. One of the surgeons from the study reveals that people are rushing to his office because of the distortion caused by selfies.
Boris Paskhover, a facial plastic surgeon from Rutgers University says he is seeing an increase in visits from patients who are a requesting plastic surgery because of selfies. He has to tell people that their noses aren't large, and it's the camera that makes it look big in their selfies.
"I'd say, 'Your nose doesn't look big - there's distortion when you keep a camera close to your face," said Paskhover to Vox.
In fact, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons published a poll of plastic surgeons indicating an increase in plastic surgery. The 2017 poll showed that 55 percent of facial plastic surgeons had patients who wanted surgery to look better in selfies. It's a 13% increase from 42 percent in 2016.
The poll further pointed out that more people are looking to gain more confidence on social media for going through with the procedure.
Paskhover says he wants young people to realize that these pictures aren't their true faces. Also, he doesn't want the distortions as the reason to get the surgery for themselves.
"Young adults are constantly taking selfies to post to social media and think those images are representative of how they really look, which can have an impact on their emotional state," said Paskhover. "I want them to realize that when they take a selfie they are in essence looking into a portable funhouse mirror."
Selfie Awareness
The study titled "Nasal Distortion in Short-Distance Photographs: The Selfie Effect" shows how the average selfie can misrepresent nose sizes. It demonstrates by showing that a selfie taken around 12 inches away from the face can make the nose look 30 percent wider,
Also, the tip of the nose becomes 7 percent wider if the picture is taken at 5 feet away. In women, it makes the nose look 29 percent wider.
The reason for such a difference is perspective. When a selfie is taken, the camera is much closer to the person's face. This will make the nose look much bigger because it is what's closest to the camera.
When the photograph is taken further away, the features will flatten because of the distance between the person and the camera.
