Gen-Z Opinion: Plastic surgery has became mainstream

Cadet Journalist Ebony Stansfield writes about how plastic surgery has gone mainstream.

CHANGING LOOKS: With advancements in technology, you can easily alter your physical features in a single appointment. Picture: targovcom

PLASTIC surgery.

Two words and a trillion-dollar industry behind it.

Before I begin I would like to disclaim, I have nothing against plastic surgery, or people altering their bodies.

With advancements in technology, especially plastic surgery, you can easily alter your physical features in a single appointment.

Non-invasive surgeries have became commonplace and are now mainstream, especially within young people.

The cost of these surgeries has decreased massively. Previously only a small number of people could afford the surgeries, but now they are readily accessible.

If you don't like your nose, you can fix that, you want bigger lips, you can do that.

I know many people in their 20s and younger who have nose jobs, fillers and Botox, to me it isn't a shock when I hear someone wants something.

However, I've always been quite curious on why people decide to alter their looks.

People present an array of factors for having plastic surgery, including to gain self-confidence, reconstructive purposes and vanity.

Social media definitely makes it easier to compare yourself to others, but does it amount to the increase of people undertaking plastic surgery?

If I scroll through my Instagram feed, all I see are full-lipped, wrinkle-free and fit, skinny women.

You are presented with two-dimensional photos of perfection.

It sounds ridiculous from an outside perspective, but it targets your insecurities without you realising - then you start pin-pricking your own looks.

Some days it's easy to get caught up in your own thoughts, and your insecurities unravel in front of you.

I often wonder to myself how did I learn to be so self-consumed? Which leads to me thinking am I acting in a selfish manner because I hate how I look?

On a bad day and a bad headspace I could look in the mirror and automatically see 10 things I would want to change.

Other days it does not phase me whatsoever.

But as I've grown older I've realised how critical we are of ourselves and it's easy to feel that way, especially being a young woman.

Being young and online, you feel an amount of pressure to look or be a certain way.

I always wonder at what point in time did we as a society start looking at ourselves in the mirror and wanting to alter ourselves to destroy our insecurities or start to judge others.

You can scroll through comments on a celebrity's Instagram or Facebook and it will be flooded with degrading comments regarding their looks.

'What have you done to your face', 'She's fat', 'What's wrong with her lips' are normal comments by online bullies.

Could actions like these contribute to why more people are having plastic surgery?

Sadly, no matter what you do, someone is always going to judge.

Which is why if they don't know you personally, don't take it personally.

I believe if you want to alter how you look because you want to, do it, or if you want to embrace how you naturally look, do that.

I'm a strong believer of never shaming or judging someone for wanting or having plastic surgery.

It can help people come out of their shell and be more confident; it can help express how people are feeling on the inside to the outside.

If something doesn't impact you in any way, shape or form, why do you have the right to make snide comments?

Plastic surgery should be a thought-out choice you make for yourself, and you only.

It shouldn't be a taboo topic, but people shouldn't feel pressured to have surgery.

Also, the decision to have surgery shouldn't be taken lightly and research into the surgery is important.

Originally published as Gen-Z Opinion: Plastic surgery has became mainstream