A Dangerous Quick-Fix… Why are More Teenagers Seeking Out Aesthetic Surgery?

From Kim Kardashian’s notorious selfies on Instagram to Gigi Hadid appearing flawless in billboard advertisements, teenagers these days are increasingly dissatisfied with their physical appearance and are seeking out aesthetic surgery as a quick fix.

Reasons

easons With social media leading the inaccurate and distorted views of celebrity perfection and perceived beauty by creating contrived images of false beauty and self-worth in teens, teenagers are increasingly seeking out aesthetic surgery for various reasons. According to clinical psychologist Devika Singh, there are two reasons why more and more teens are opting for plastic surgery, tells Singh; these are the media and accessibility to services. She elaborates, “Unfortunately, most celebrity images are either digitally enhanced or the images are a result of aesthetic surgery or starvation. Teenage girls are facing a lot more pressure from boys to look like celebrities, leading to a need to change one’s body image to meet expectations.”

More Serious

In more serious cases, Singh says sometimes teenagers seek surgery as a result of a mental health disorder known as Body Dimorphic Disorder. This is when an individual is obsessively focused on the disliked body feature, and this obsession severely interferes with that person’s existence. In such cases, surgery is only a temporary answer, and the individual usually seeks one surgical intervention after another – it becomes an obsession.

What Parents Can Do:

  • Parents need to act as role models for their children by refraining from unnecessary criticism in themselves and in their children.
  • It’s important to help children and adolescents understand that the media are trying to communicate and persuade people to buy into an attitude or a look.
  • Teach your children to set realistic standards of beauty and don’t buy into the unrealistic images portrayed by the media.
  • It is important to make teenagers aware of the realistic expectations of the outcome of plastic surgery and to know that like many other surgeries, the result could be fatal.