Years ago, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) identified a trend deemed “selfie-awareness” that drove a younger set of patients into facial plastic surgery offices in droves - requesting to look like a filtered version of themselves thanks to social media screen time.
AAFPRS members are now seeing a different kind of screen time effect - this time due to the exponential increase in ZOOM and virtual meetings, conference calls and even classwork. It’s like constantly seeing yourself on TV, but you never signed up to be scrutinized on screen in that way.
The daily pressure put on everyone, from students to men and women working from home, by a virtual lifestyle is striking. Even though many non-essential surgeries and aesthetic services were put on hold for months during the pandemic, AAFPRS members note that demand is now higher than ever.
“The most common area people notice on ZOOM is their neck, '’ shares Mark M. Hamilton, MD FACS, Chair, Public Information Committee for the AAFPRS. “This hyper-focus on the neck has led to a big increase in interest in facelifts, with eyelid surgery being secondary.”
“This, combined with masks, less travel and people working from home (and thus able to hide out and not miss work) has led to an increase for my practice in surgical procedures,” shares Dr. Hamilton.