Apps aimed at kids normalise plastic surgery, experts say

KIDS are playing disturbing games that allow them to give animated characters nose jobs, liposuction and lip enhancements.

Princess Plastic Surgery, a game targeted at young kids. Picture: Supplied

KIDS are playing disturbing games that allow them to give animated characters nose jobs, liposuction and lip enhancements.

A number of plastic surgery games can be found in app stores, targeting young girls with princess characters and fairytale plot lines.

There’s a number of different plastic surgery games, one being Princess Plastic Surgery.

The main image on the app is a blonde princess with large lips, crying as a needle is held to her cheek. The aim of this game is the fix the curse the evil witch cast on the princess, making her ugly.

“Don’t miss the chance to become a professional plastic surgery doctor! Making fantastic surgery and give what princesses dream of. Face, nose, eyes, lip, make any plastic surgery that you can imagine!” the game preview says.

“Break the curse and help them become more beautiful!”

A plastic surgery game showing a girl having a nose job. Picture: Supplied

Psychotherapist and body image specialist Holli Rubin has recently launched a petition to stop Apple, Google and Amazon from allowing the apps to be downloaded. Almost 20,000 people have signed it.

Ms Rubin knew what it was like to have body image issues and believed these apps would be damaging to young girls.

When Ms Rubin was a child, she had an accident that left her with a scar.

“As a five-year-old little girl I was worried about how I would look and how others would see me,” she said in the petition.

“As hard as it was, I learned to listen to my mother’s words to ‘stop putting myself under a magnifying glass’.

“This helped me to accept my scar and it being a part of me. Had it been surgically removed, I would not have had to go through that journey to learn to like how I looked, with or without it.”

A before an after photo of a princess on the Princess Plastic Surgery game. Picture: Supplied

Ms Rubin said the world of plastic surgery was dangerous for the mental health of girls and women.

“It is one thing to play with your looks — to have a haircut, get your ears pierced or try a new shade of lipstick, but altering appearance through something as permanent as plastic surgery is serious business,” she said.

“Children playing on these apps minimises that seriousness, and actually condones surgery by inadvertently and unconsciously sending the message that faces and body parts are meant to be changes and can be, simply and easily.

“I think I speak for many parents when I say that our children should not see plastic surgery as a game.”

The National Eating Disorder Association in the US did a study that revealed 81 per cent of 10-year-old girls were worried about being fat.

“Globally, children deserve to be challenged and inspired by their toys, not to spend their free time worrying about how they look,” Ms Rubin said.

A plastic surgery game targeted at kids. Picture: Supplied

Australian parenting expert Dr Justin Coulson said kids didn’t need smartphones, they needed smart parents.

“Smart parents keep kids away from this stuff,” he told news.com.au.

“We have excellent evidence from a variety of studies over the past several decades that indicate a focus on fashion, appearance and other skin deep issues leads to stress, anxiety, depression and decreased wellbeing.

“It’s not harmless fun. This stuff gets in our kids’ heads and affects the way they see themselves in really negative ways.

“It normalises behaviour that is risky and not associated with wellbeing.”

Dr Coulson said parents who saw their children playing the game should ask them how it makes them feel before deleting the app.

“Parents wonder why kids these days are stressed and struggling and it’s because of this sort of material that is literally in their pocket or palm of their hand whenever they want it,” he said.

News.com.au has contacted Google, Apple and Amazon for comment.