Evaluation of Selfies and Filtered Selfies and Effects on First Impressions

Abstract

Background Selfies and filtered selfies are becoming more prevalent throughout society and in the facial plastic surgery clinic. The term “Snapchat dysmorphia” has been used to describe patients seeking procedures to look like their selfie or filtered selfie. This is particularly frequent in the Millennial population, aged 22 to 37 years. Objectives The authors sought to determine the effects on first impression from different photograph types: selfies, filtered selfies, a rear-facing smartphone camera, and a digital camera (DC). We hypothesize that the DC photographs will have the highest rated first impressions among evaluators despite the popularity of selfies and filtered selfies. Methods This study included 240 evaluators and 4 patients each completing the 4 different photograph types. The evaluators completed a survey rating first impression on various measures of success for each photograph type. Results A total of 960 first impressions were recorded for each of the 8 subscales, yielding 7680 individual assessments of first impression. The DC photograph was found to have the highest first impression scores among the 4 photograph types. There was no statistical difference between selfies and filtered selfies. The rear-facing smartphone camera received the lowest first impression scores. Conclusions Our findings indicate that the standard DC photograph taken during a preoperative consultation has higher first impressions than selfies or filtered selfies. Although “Snapchat dysmorphia” may continue to be a growing trend in the near future, our findings provide important information to discuss with patients in the preoperative visit to set realistic expectations.

Blinded Evaluation of Hyaluronic Acid Hand Filler Injections and Effects on First Impressions

“…The defined categories of first impression perception include social skills, academic performance, dating success, occupational success, attractiveness, financial success, relationship success, and athletic success. 15–17 In all of these categories and overall first impression, there was statistically significant improvement between pretreatment and posttreatment among blinded evaluators. This confirms our hypothesis that hyaluronic acid filler injection to the dorsal hand would improve first impressions.…”

“…A survey used to evaluate first impressions that have been previously published by the senior author in multiple studies [15][16][17] was used to evaluate defined categories of perception. The first impression questionnaire (FIQ) consisted of 8 Likert-type scales from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) that rated: Social skills, academic performance, dating success, occupational success, attractiveness, financial success, relationship success, and athletic success (See Supplemental Digital Content 1, First Impression Questionnaire, http:// links.lww.com/DSS/A461).…”

The concept of altered perception in “body dysmorphic disorder”: The subtle border between the abuse of selfies in social networks and cosmetic surgery, between socially accepted dysfunctionality and the pathological condition

“…Recently, some scientifi c research [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] has really made people discuss about the possible correlation between the incidence of cases of body dysformism and the "selfi e" craze, a social trend that has spread in recent years thanks also to the social media that consists of in photographing (precisely selfportrait) through the smartphone and then inserting the image on social networks. With these shots, you usually photograph the close-up of the face or a detail that you want to show, at any time, condition and anywhere.…”

Quantitative Analysis of Enhanced Selfies in a Young Adult Population

“…the social media platform. 7,8 While these applications largely contain preconstructed filters that are able to alter the lighting, size, and shape of various facial features, one app in particular, Facetune2, allows users to selectively choose the features for adjustment to varying extents. A key driver for the popularity of this app and its predecessor, Facetune, is the use among social media "influencers," who may use their social media platforms to "influence" others to adopt a specific look or behavior.…”