Jan 09, 2017

WTF story of the day: Some Indian teens are going under the knife for the perfect selfie

An 18-year old Delhi University student wanted to get a nose job done to look better in selfies.

BYJayadevan PK

It has become difficult to tell real news from fake news these days. Not only because fake news has become good at posing as the truth, but also because real news is getting more and more bizarre.
On Monday, a Malayalam daily reported that three people were admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) — for a strange reason: selfie addiction.
Wait, it gets better.
An 18-year-old Delhi University student wanted to get a nose job to look better in selfies. Instead of treating her, the doctor (an ear, nose and throat specialist) sent her to the psychiatry department.
According to the report, this was only one of many such cases being treated by doctors. Apparently, at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, similar cases have been reported.

An 18-year-old Delhi University student wanted to get a nose job to look better in selfies. Instead of treating her, the doctor (an ENT specialist) sent her to the psychiatry department  


“The feeling that you aren’t looking attractive enough when taking selfies is what is encouraging youngsters to surgically change their face, nose and lips,” said the report.
Feelings of low self-esteem on not achieving the perfect selfie, or not getting enough ‘likes’ and comments after posting it on Facebook or Instagram are common these days. The problem is reaching pathological proportions, if these doctors’ views are anything to go by.
It isn’t apparent from the article if the story is well sourced. So, we should probably not take it too seriously. But if at all there are stray teens who have the “I’m not good enough for Instagram syndrome,” there’s no need to go so far.
Selfie apps like Beauty Plus (made by Chinese tech company Meitu Technology) offer beauty enhancements (through photo editing) like skin lightening, face thinning, blemish removal, getting rid of dark circles and eye bags and even teeth whitening.

Also read: The deadly addiction in your home that you are aware of — and comfortable with
PS: Lead image for representational purposes only. Or not. Clearly, the man is not in his teens. Stop obsessing over it.

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Jayadevan PK is a writer of FactorDaily.