A Question of Plastic Surgery in Modern World

Growing up in the 21st century social media has had a great impact on today's society. Social media influencers and celebrities change their appearances from when they were younger and some of them are open about what they have had done. Plastic surgery emerged as the new way of feeling better about yourself rather than doing it to heal injuries. Cosmetic surgery was apparent to me starting from middle school all the way up to the age I am today. My peers, friends and even some family members would scroll through social media apps and depict others features in a person's photos or videos. As a little girl virtual games were all I used to play. I would create characters on these games and change any appearance they had from mine. Their lips, their body figure, and even eye color. These online games flourished and even as a small child I realized I could create a whole new appearance and life, under the palm of my hands. Plastic surgery in general tended to show every sign of criticism in the eyes of most people especially in teens. As a teen and young adult today, society just tends to like specific body types but dislike the fact of it not being natural. To my knowledge plastic surgery seems to be an efficient and faster way to change what you dislike rather than exercising or learning self acceptance.  So should plastic surgery really be banned from teenagers?

 Research shows that plastic surgery has grown billions of dollars specifically in the US.  By having the plastic surgery industry be accessible to teens the industry grows significantly and it benefits the economy. According to Discount Cosmetic Surgery: Industry Trends and Strategies for Success by Lloyd M. Krieger plastic surgeons have started giving adolescents discounted prices for surgery.  patients are now price-sensitive (increasing their bargaining power as buyers), and there are few barriers to entry among providers (allowing potential new entrants into the market). (Krieger) This business strategy is making teens want to get more work done at an easier price to pay for. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) estimates that more than 333,000 plastic procedures were performed on patients 18 years of age or younger in the United States in 2005, compared to approximately 14,000 in 1996. By recording the growth of adolescent patients by decreasing the price for cosmetic operations study shows that the number of adolescents requesting these procedures show that this business is in high demand. Appearance and deformities are important to anyone who engages in social interaction. Teens as well as adults also could have valid plastic conditions that benefit from plastic surgery. Adolescent plastic surgery is not a new thing, but the topic has come to the forefront as a result of recent media attention. The most common sources of information for teens about plastic surgery are magazines and television. The quick fixes on television "reality" shows can establish unrealistic expectations and distort the facts about actual plastic surgery.

Teens are often uncomfortable with their evolving bodies. Distortions in body appearance can lower self-confidence and disrupt social acceptance. This can result in difficulty with school, depression, or disconnection with friends and family. The cosmetic procedures teens desire most based on the The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) that overall improves their self-confidence are liposuction, rhinoplasty, and breast augmentation.Young people can be cruel, whether they mean to or not, teens and adolescents can cause significant emotional distress with their words. Comments about visual appearance or related areas may drive a teen to seek surgical solutions. Will adolescents who want to improve their appearance rationally consider the risks? Studies by implant manufacturers show that most women have at least one serious complication within the first 3 years, including infection, hematomas and seromas, capsular contracture (a sometimes painful hardening of the breasts), loss of nipple sensation, and hypertrophic scarring. Since breast implants typically last 10 years, an adolescent will require repeated surgeries throughout her lifetime. Breast implants can also cause complications with breastfeeding. The cost of any surgery can be very extortionate so having price reductions such as installment plans can greatly make up an adolescents mind with the decision of going through with a procedure.

A counterargument to the idea that plastic surgery should be allowed to adolescents are that there are lots of misconceptions and false advertisement. Along with those things there could be genuine reasons as to why people choose to do it rather than others.  Since this issue is seen in today's society there are shown to be positive attributes to it but with restriction. An example of this is the topic of how plastic surgery is fine but it should be restricted to only adults 18+. Having adolescents be exposed to plastic procedures could be dangerous to their mental health and overall perspective of what is important and what is not. Having a adolescent view their peers receiving these procedures and consider it as normal could lead to many issues. Medical doctor Michael A. Bermant wrote the article Ethics of Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Adolescents he explains the study and how usually teens/kids are not mature enough to have procedures by choice. The deformity, physical and emotional maturity, and desired outcome for each adolescent patient must be carefully evaluated before any decisions are made. Additional consultations and long discussions before plastic surgery are often merited. By having this be questioned so much proves that it is better safe than sorry to operate on an adolescent. With plastic surgery it should be well thought out instead of making an impulse decision. Everything should be safe and fine if you really think things over and don't just do it for temporary acceptance. It is important to distinguish between teenagers below 18 years, and those above 18 years, as the older ones are legally of consenting age. But the problems before the teenagers have nothing to do with this division. They have two types of issues: To conform to their peer group, and obvious cosmetic problems, for example, asymmetry of breasts or gigantomastia causing severe medical problems.

According to Cosmetic Surgery in Teenagers: To Do or Not to Do. by Singh Kuldip the many reasons why plastic surgery is popular within teens is because of trends. Kuldeep gives reasoning as to why plastic surgery needs to be well thought out for an adolescent who wants something done to themself. Many solutions of how a teen considering plastic surgery should do before going through with it. Psychologically it could be damaging to a teen thinking about plastic surgery just because there is a trend for it. Emotional damage can also occur if the results become not what the teen wanted. In the Demographic features of patients seeking cosmetic surgery there was a study conducted that shows the rate of how plastic surgery is between 415 patients. Within these 415 patients their demographic features were investigated from a psychiatric point of view.  Most of the 415 patients had different types of disorders and it became a possible factor in their decision making with going under the knife. Gender was also a factor in this study showing that more females than males get plastic surgery willingly not just because of an injury. many patients seeking cosmetic surgery were considered to have mental health problems. Expectations are important to consider for teens thinking about plastic surgery.

I think that plastic can be beneficial to an individual's self esteem  but precaution is important. Plastic surgery can bring lots of happiness and it can greatly help someone's mental  pro many people into your life and you can explore many more. Just be careful making impulsive decisions because you never know what your going to get.                               

Cite this page