According to a new study by The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, one in three plastic surgeons attests that the selfie phenomenon has deliberately increased the interest and demand for plastic surgery over the last couple of years. In the same study, surgeons have confirmed that "selfie" avid patients are even onto expensive procedures.
Between 2012 and 2013, the academy's surgeons have performed eyelid surgery, hair transplants and nose jobs. These number of these performed procedures increased by 6 percent, 7 percent and 10 percent respectively within the aforementioned time range.
"Selfies are getting so crazy," says New York -based plastic surgeon Dr. Sam Rizk.
This craziness in selfies, according to Dr. Rizk, causes people to come to his clinic with their iPhones, showing him their selfies and what procedures they are interested in.
While Dr. Rizk often advise these patients that plastic surgery is unnecessary, the visits and consultations often end up with these people on his table. For he says he understands that even when he'd refuse to perform the procedure, his advise will fall on deaf ears and these people will only head elsewhere for the surgery.
According to Dr. Rizk, over the past two and a half years, he has performed 25 percent more plastic surgeries. Moreover, Dr. Rizk says that the selfie phenomenon is an alarming trend. A person's preoccupation to his or her looks "self obsession" and a "certain level of insecurity."
Many times before, a person's obsession to taking selfies have been linked by psychiatrists to the "narcissistic personality disorder".
While NPD is primarily when a person has a "blown up sense of self-importance and the notion of superiority over others," those with the disorder feed on "admiration" from other people.
This feeding on admiration is apparent in those afflicted by the "selfie bug" such that they get a kick from the "likes" and the "comments" their selfies get on social media. Being able to see themselves several times a day is yet another source of "high".
