It's almost hard to remember, but once upon a time, you DIDN'T see new photos of yourself on a weekly basis. We took photos only on special occasions and the film had to actually be developed. Sure, we looked in the mirror, but that's not the same.
--But today, we look at photos of ourselves CONSTANTLY . . . and that's SHREDDING our self-confidence. Dr. Adam Schaffner is a plastic surgeon in New York. He says plastic surgery numbers keep going up . . . and Facebook is the reason.
--Quote, "With a good degree of frequency, people will come in and say, 'I saw myself in the mirror but I didn't really notice it until I saw myself on Facebook or on my iPhone.'
--"When you look in the mirror, you're seeing the mirror image of yourself. But when you see yourself on social media, you're seeing yourself the way the world sees you."
--Dr. Yael Halass is another plastic surgeon who agrees. She says, quote, "I'd say maybe 80% of the time patients whip out a photo of themselves on an iPhone and say, 'See this? This is what I'm talking about.'"
--Cosmetic surgeries were up 2% in 2011 despite the economy. Facelifts were up 5% and chin augmentations were up 71% . . . both of those are common surgeries people want after seeing unflattering Facebook photos.
