There was a time when, if you had plastic surgery, you tried to keep it hush-hush. Beauty was something that you were born with naturally, and you accepted your limitations. The new face of plastic surgery and a whole new generation of “selfie”-taking Millennials are changing the face of various types of physical alterations. Chief among them are things like lip injection surgery.
Plastic surgery used to be just for the rich and famous, and nothing that anyone would brag about. Sure, well-to-do people might get Botox injections or other touch-ups, but it wasn’t something that anyone really talked about openly. But social media, more disposable income, and changing attitudes about nips and tucks are changing all that. Whether it is lip injections, breast enhancements, or cheek implants, people are taking to their social media pages and letting it all hang out, literally.
Millennials are the first generation to grow up with the internet, along with the self-importance that comes with having platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Believing that people care about what they are doing all the time, what they had to eat, or even how boring their afternoon is, posting pictures of plastic surgery after shots is the new “in” thing. Not only are people announcing it, many are asking for likes, feedback, or follows.
Whether it is sending a text message, putting photos on Snapchat, or posting to Instagram, there is no shame in putting money into making yourself beautiful and advertising it. The stigma that used to surround having to go to such lengths to fit in or to be beautiful are long gone. In its place is the desire to be beautiful at the hands of any injectable, implant, or surgical procedure.
Younger and younger people are using plastic surgery to change their appearance, which is really having an effect on their psyche. Believing that beauty is only skin deep, many of them are altering their bodies before they have even had time to grow into them. Just two short decades ago, no parent would allow their child to inject implants for fuller lips; now it appears to be the acceptable norm.
There is no shame about going through cosmetic procedures, or showing it off once you have. Social media sites aren’t the only thing to blame.There’s also the issue of reality stars, and television shows that are about anything but reality. Celebrities make it seem like having surgery for vain reasons is not a problem, and comes without any side effects or risks at all. An entire generation is forgetting is that surgery is still surgery and comes with risks and sometimes debacles.
Not only are many young people using surgery to change their looks with very little thought about pros and cons, celebrities are getting paid to convince them that they should. Actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow have no problem telling a young generation that they need botox injections, even when the long-term effect of them has not been studied well enough to entirely understand if Botox has any long-term risk.
What the plastic surgery craze is doing to the Millennial generation is giving them a false sense of beauty. Not everyone can be born with double-size D breasts, full augmented lips, or a perfect nose, but what society is telling them is that whatever you lack at birth can be overridden with a knife and a budget. That is leaving many Millennials superficial and more worried about their exterior selves than their interior ones.
Many plastic and oral surgeons in Winnipeg see a huge benefit to the new use of social media and the changing attitudes of Millennials. In fact, research indicates that as much as 30% of their new clientele comes from photos posted to social media platforms. Who can blame them? After all, that is their business. Like any other business, those you serve are your best advertising.
Plastic surgery is both a blessing and a curse. The new generation of growing girls and boys don’t have to worry if they have something about themselves that makes them insecure, they can fix it with ease if they have the means. The problem is that sometimes it is something external that makes them insecure. So, even when they fix their outer appearance, their inner self remains a nagging issue.
A more open society is an excellent thing for those who have the strength to put it out there and show off what they have. The changing face of plastic surgery is nowhere more apparent than on the contact list of any 20-something Millennial’s Snapchat or Instagram account.
