Selfie obsession: Young girls push for plastic surgery "perfection"
Corinna Hente

 

By SHELLY LIU

Viral images of a teenage girl who had her face dramatically reshaped have highlighted international concerns that the rise of “selfies” is fuelling a desire for plastic surgery among young girls.

Chinese teenager Lee Hee Danae became an internet sensation when she posted post-surgery photos on the social media site Weibo revealing the doll-like result of extensive cosmetic surgery

The 15-year-old also shared a photo she said was taken a day after the surgery, showing her face bruised and bandaged around her eyes and eyebrows, cheeks and chin. The result is a face with strong V-shape and pointed chin, double eyelids and wide, round eyes.

Danae did it to impress her ex-boyfriend, according to the news website cbg.cn. She said she considered it a good investment and would not regret it.

“I have considered the consequences,” she said. She now has more than 600,000 followers online.

Melbourne University psychologist in the graduate school of education, Associate Professor Erica Frydenberg, who is also president of children’s services agency OzChild, said the drive for online celebrity was a powerful one for young people.
 
“They see photos online that have been enhanced and altered and want to look like that. They want to achieve a kind of perfection,” she said.
 
“Teenagers are conscious about their body image and are willing to take risks. They don't take long term concerns into consideration.”
 

Marc Pacifico, from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said there was a noticeable trend in enhanced “selfie” images driving young people to plastic surgery.

Young people felt under “incessant pressure” to be perfect, comparing themselves to digitally enhanced photos of others, he told popular news website metro.co.uk.

“Younger people often make themselves look better by taking out blemishes so you’ve got this huge pressure on other young people to conform to some sort of ideal image,” he said.

There are no uniform national laws in Australia on performing cosmetic surgery on children (under 18s), but the AMA’s recommendation to all doctors is that it should not be done “unless those procedures are in a person’s medical and/or psychological interests”.

In a move to take a stronger national line, on March 15 this year the Medical Board of Australia released draft guidelines for public consultation.

Noting a concerning increase in the number of children having cosmetic procedures, the draft guidelines recommend a three-month cooling off period for all under 18s, “along with mandatory assessment by a registered psychologist or psychiatrist”.

A/Prof Frydenberg said the proposal was a step in the right direction.

“I think the policy is definitely good but it still may not go far enough. Teenagers may regret their decision and this may affect their life in the longer term,” she said.

“A longer cooling off period would be better.”

No one knows how many cosmetic procedures are done in Australia each year, according to the Public Consultation Paper and Regulation Impact Statement paper, which were released along with the guidelines.

However, the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery estimates the market is about $1 billion annually.

The consultation paper also expressed concern that children were getting cosmetic surgery from their parents as a reward for good behaviour or good school results.

The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons said such a reward system was “completely inappropriate”.