What is Snapchat dysmorphia? Thanks for asking!

Snapchat dysmorphia is a mental health condition linked to the excessive use of filters and effects on social media apps. In extreme cases users become so accustomed to seeing a transformed version of their face through selfies, that they want to get surgery to look more like their virtual self. This phenomenon is causing concern among plastic surgeons around the world. 

How did this phenomenon appear?

The past decade has seen the democratisation of photo editing. That’s largely thanks to filters, which are easy to use and available to anyone with a smartphone. With just a few taps, you can give yourself cat ears or add flowers in your hair. And we don’t always realise it, but they often do more than that. They can make our skin look smoother, our noses look slimmer or eyes look bigger. Some handsets even have these functions integrated in their cameras, without the need for an app!

So it’s like a kind of digital cosmetic surgery, isn't it? Will having a Snapchat filter face be the next big trend? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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