If your selfie addiction is giving you face dysmorphia, you’re not alone.
According to a 2014 poll by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, 55 percent of patients sought cosmetic surgery because they wanted to look better — not necessarily in real life, but in selfies. Sounds like a “Black Mirror” episode.
But here’s some relief: There’s probably nothing actually wrong with your face. It might just be the way your face appears when you flip the iPhone camera towards it.
A new study published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery finds that photos taken at standard selfie distance — about 12 inches — have a distorting effect that makes your nose look bigger than it actually is.
Using a computer model of the human face, researchers from Rutgers University calculated that the close-up selfie angle makes the nasal base appear about 30 percent wider, and the nasal tip, roughly 7 percent wider, compared to if the photo had been taken at five feet away, as in a standard portrait photo.
“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 lead author Boris Paskhover, a facial plastic surgeon who works at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. “I want them to realize that when they take a selfie they are in essence looking into a portable funhouse mirror.”
Paskhover is serious about correcting this misconception. He said that the way selfies affect self-image is a “public health issue.”
He’s not wrong.
So folks, don’t stress too much about yourself(ie). You definitely don’t need to go under the knife over it. Either accept that the outcome won’t be a hundred percent accurate representation of how you actually look, and deal with it. Or, find yourself a reliable friend to take your thirst traps for you. Unless you think your nose is actually too narrow and you’re cool with the selfie-effect adding a little girth.
