After the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) released the results of this year’s annual member survey, the evidence of the serious impact online filters have on self-esteem and the resulting surge in facial plastic surgery treatments performed in the last year was staggering. The newest incarnation of “selfie-awareness”, a term coined by the AAFPRS, is “Tik Tok Face.”
Related: AAFPRS Releases 2020 Annual Survey Results
While using filters to alter selfies is still a top-rising trend, according to 77% of AAFPRS members, the specific nuances of the way Tik Tok influences self-esteem and beauty standards is taking this trend to a new level. The negative impact the increased use of video has on our level of self-scrutiny, creating unrealistic beauty standards and increasingly questionable beauty habits such as taping the face to reduce wrinkles, is amplified by Tik Tok’s advanced filter technology. The rise in facial procedures requested to enhance a patient’s appearance on video has skyrocketed from 16% to 79% in the last year alone, according to the 2021 AAFPRS survey.
Facial plastic surgeon Dr. Corey Maas, President of the AAFPRS, recently weighed in on the safety and efficacy of this newest viral aesthetic trend. Dr. Maas said, “Unlike its predecessors, Tik Tok makes those static filters fluid, further blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. With a single click, jaws and noses can be slimmed, eyes enlarged and reshaped, lips volumized, and so on. Tik Tok technology has become so advanced, that a makeup filter can smooth pores and add lashes while remaining nearly undetectable to the untrained eye, especially when in movement.”
