Snapchat dysmorphia: Here's looking at you, kid – Hindustan Times

The late American author David Foster Wallace had an idea about “videophony”. In his 1996 novel Infinite Jest, long before phones became an extension of our selves, he imagined a world where video calls had become commonplace. He predicted that this would lead to widespread self-consciousness, which in turn would give rise to digital masks that would brighten skin, erase wrinkles, delete dark circles and give us the perfect smile. Eventually, people would become so obsessed with these digital masks that they would avoid going out and letting people see their real selves. That prescient idea now has a name. Snapchat dysmorphia is a term coined by British cosmetic surgeon Dr Tijion Esho, first used in a report in 2018. He coined it, he has said, when he started noticing that patients were bringing in filtered pictures of themselves as references for cosmetic procedures. How much is too much? With the swipe of a finger, filters on phone camera apps and photo-driven apps such as Instagram and Snapchat let users acquire the biggest eyes, the smoothest skin, cute freckles, long lashes, luscious lips. It’s easy to fall in love with this version of one’s face. But when you start seeing…
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