Plastic Surgery for Youngins: Why is this a U.S.-specific phenomenon?

[Athena]

The Young and Plastic Surgery Hungry
Wednesday, May. 07, 2008 By BILL TANCER

http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2008/0805/plastic_surgery_0502.jpg

Perhaps it's fallout from television programming such as Nip/Tuck or Dr. 90210 or reruns of Extreme Makeover, but Internet data shows that younger adults have become the primary audience obsessed with altering their personal appearance. Once the domain of the well-to-do female in her fifties, plastic surgery has become the obsession of the least affluent segment of younger Internet users.

The recent tragic death of Stephanie Kuleba, an 18-year-old high school cheerleader who died as a result of complications during a breast augmentation surgery, brought our attention to the pursuit of a more "ideal" body amongst teenagers. In fact, search data confirms this phenomenon. One of the most popular sites visited from the search term "plastic surgery" is the official site of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (www.plasticsurgery.org). Over 25% of visitors to the site (the largest segment) fell within the 18- to 24-year-old demographic — that's up from 19.6% two years ago.

Plastic surgery has become an American obsession. Checking other markets that Hitwise has data on, such as the U.K. and Australia, the 18- to 24-year-old fascination with plastic surgery is a decidedly U.S. phenomenon.

Looking at other health related sites visited by 18- t 24-year-olds, reveals just how obsessed this age group is with appearance. Unlike their older counterparts who visit sites related to diseases and keeping healthy, younger Internet users flock to sites that dwell on personal appearance, such as those focused on bodybuilding, weight loss and skincare. And definitely plastic surgery.

Full Article (http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1738111,00.html)
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Are we really going to blame TV for a spike in young Americans getting plastic surgery? What, the Brits don't have Nip/Tuck? According to the stats, it's obvious - American youngsters are disproportionately interested in plastic surgery.

What do you think is causing this? Should we blame the media? What about accessibility or other things factoring in? Lastly, how do YOU feel about this trend and about plastic surgery in general?

Admittedly, I asked a friend who works for a day spa about the price of Botox, recently. She said she could get me one hell of a deal. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered it...

...but I don't even watch TV. I've never seen an episode of Nip/Tuck in my life. :p

[ashdavus]

I've watched Nip/Tuck, my kids HAVE NOT. They have always been sent from the room to other endeavors if someone is going to watch that. It's far too graphic.

From personal experience, the younger set is obsessed with appearance. Other kids harassed my 13 year old so badly about his clothing (adjustable waist pants and dept store tees) that we finally gave up and bought him a ridiculously priced new wardrobe. He does not like boxers but refuses to wear briefs to school because someone called them his tidy whities. And he will no longer wear his yellow hollister jacket to school because someone called him "sunshine scout". Kids have made comments about his monobrow as well. Bunch of ignorant little assholes, the whole lot of them!

At any rate, we have stressed that he should not give two shits what people think of his clothing and appearance as long as he likes it. Between that and the new jeans and shirts, the l;ast smart ass comment he got was answered with "I like it". I wonder though, if it's this bad for a boy...what goes on between the girls?

[dop]

I think its silly that they would blame Nip/Tuck, its so not a pro surgery show at all. Its a drama set to an extent in the vapid lifestyle of surgeons and their patients and that isnt even the real focus, its more about the relationships between the characters.

It doesnt really glamourise having the procedures, it tends to show how psycologically fucked many patients are and the procedures dont always go as planed physically either.

Dr 90210, The Swan and Extereme Make Over well yea, im sure to an extent those are a factror as they all portary it in a harmless always great results type of thing but how much of a factor, probably not that much.

Like you say, the brits have that shit on the "telly" too and they dont go for chop chops as much as in the US.

My guess is its a grassroots thing, one girl has it, so her firends have it, so the rest of the sheep their age have it till its eem more and more normal every time.

[CPL CHUD]

Disposable income coupled with the increased availability of advanced plastic surgery clinics faced with age old adolescent awkwardness. Supply influenced by demand influenced by fashion trends influenced by ficky teens. Nothing mystical.

[Athena]

Disposable income coupled with the increased availability of advanced plastic surgery clinics faced with age old adolescent awkwardness. Supply influenced by demand influenced by fashion trends influenced by ficky teens. Nothing mystical.

Why wouldn't this apply to other western nations, however? I don't know that plastic surgery is any less available in other countries, nor do I know that youngins in those countries have less disposable income...

[Raq me darkly]

You can google for teen girl surgery. Nose jobs used to be synonomous with "bat-mitzvah". Now you see more Sweet Sixteen boob jobs.

Actually, plastic surgery is very high in the Arab world (where they do have all that money) - yes, under those full Burkas they are incredibly dressed, high-end makeup and hair, and plastic surgery. The country with the highest rating is Switzerland (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_pla_sur_pro_percap-plastic-surgery-procedures-per-capita), and while that is for all people, I cannot imagine that there are no "girls" in that number. And I would presume that Venezuela (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-12-30-venezuela-beauty_x.htm) has even more "girls".

Athena, you are way to young to need botox. Hey, I am too young for botox. Get yourself a good facial, it's less dangerous than getting injected with botulism.

[Athena]

You can google for teen girl surgery. Nose jobs used to be synonomous with "bat-mitzvah". Now you see more Sweet Sixteen boob jobs.

Actually, plastic surgery is very high in the Arab world (where they do have all that money) - yes, under those full Burkas they are incredibly dressed, high-end makeup and hair, and plastic surgery. The country with the highest rating is Switzerland (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_pla_sur_pro_percap-plastic-surgery-procedures-per-capita), and while that is for all people, I cannot imagine that there are no "girls" in that number. And I would presume that Venezuela (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-12-30-venezuela-beauty_x.htm) has even more "girls".

Athena, you are way to young to need botox. Hey, I am too young for botox. Get yourself a good facial, it's less dangerous than getting injected with botulism.

No facial can do for me what Botox can. :p

We're not talking plastic surgery in general. Plastic surgery is popular all over the place. We're talking about the 18-24 y.o. age group. In this particular case, there is a pretty vast disparity between the rate of girls pursuing plastic surgery here as opposed to the young populations of other countries.

Something must account for this difference, and I'm quite interested - Is blaming the media finally justified? (I doubt it, but it's possible.)

[Raq me darkly]

I would guess (without having the acutal numbers) that the 18-24 group is the group in Venezuela. They are the "beauty queen country" and according to articles (like the one I quoted) breast augmentation surgery is a common quincetera (sweet 15) gift.

However, the plastic surgery group there does not keep statistics. I think that may be the case in a lot of the countries, Americans keep better statistics than many other countries. I saw on a blog that the highest number of very young plastic surgery patients is in Spain, but that was from a 2006 post and they referenced The Guinness Book of World Records.

[Athena]

Boy, you're being stubborn, aren't you. :p

You know who does keep statistics? Countries like us - England, Canada, Australia. Why the disparity?

As for S. America - I heard on a Discovery Health documentary that Brazil once ran out of breast implants one weekend. That's a big fucking country to run out of breast plants. Is Rio still considered the cosmetic surgery capital of the world?

[Raq me darkly]

Boy, you're being stubborn, aren't you. :p

You know who does keep statistics? Countries like us - England, Canada, Australia. Why the disparity?

As for S. America - I heard on a Discovery Health documentary that Brazil once ran out of breast implants one weekend. That's a big fucking country to run out of breast plants. Is Rio still considered the cosmetic surgery capital of the world?

Yes, and I am not a Taurus, Leo, or Scorpio.;)

I also read that Brazil is a big country for plastic surgery.

Australia (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/BeautySecrets/story?id=4694079&page=1) - I believe that a law is in the works to outlaw elective plastic surgery for the young.

Canada - they may go across the border and therefore bump up the numbers for the United States.

In Europe, there is a popularity of getting surgery in other countries. Perhaps the wealthy go to South America where it is less expensive (expense is a big issue here) and the doctors are well trained and experienced.

[CPL CHUD]

Why wouldn't this apply to other western nations, however? I don't know that plastic surgery is any less available in other countries, nor do I know that youngins in those countries have less disposable income...From what I can ascertain from the interweb America's market on plastic surgeory has a head start and there is more clinics of better reputation here than in other knooks of the world. Even places like Thailand and Korea are starting to employ these types of beauty clinics.

I see it as prosperity.

[Raq me darkly]

There is a new documentary coming out that I thought fit well with this topic America the Beautiful (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080508/REVIEWS/277581949/-1/email_headlines). While it doesn't cover plastic surgery, per se, it does focus on youth and beauty.


Darryl Roberts, a Chicago native, will follow her career in a film that's also a general look at the media-driven worship of women who the average woman may never resemble (or, if they have any sense, feel the need to). To establish the world Gerren enters, he calmly assembles facts and observations: (1) "Three minutes of looking at a fashion magazine makes 90 percent of women of all ages feel depressed, guilty and shameful," (2) three years after the introduction of television to the Fiji Islands, the culture's rate of teenage bulimia went from zero to 11 percent, (3) a model who is 6 feet tall and weighs 130 pounds is told she must lose 15 pounds, (4) the "average woman" in those crypto-feminist Dove soap ads became "average" only after complex makeup and photo retouching.

[Athena]

I like fashion mags and can't say they've ever depressed me. Then again, I'm getting them for the high-fashion makeup and jewelry adds, rather than diet or fashion tips.

I don't know...You can't possibly make everyone happy. I don't believe that the media industry is responsible for the effects on women who expose themselves to it. If what that quote says is true and they really make 90% of women depressed after 3 minutes, it sure appears to be willful, self-imposed torture, considering the healthy market for such magazines.

That's it...Women must be inherently masochistic. :p