COSMETIC TOWN JOURNAL



Are Plastic Surgery Apps Harmful to Patients?

Posted April 19, 2018
Plastic surgery apps might harm people

In the past few years, dozens of plastic surgery games and apps have become available for download. One Android app claims boys and girls will “learn a lot about medicine” by giving a cartoon character a nose job while another gives a facelift to a cartoon patient.

These games, which are often explicitly designed for a younger, more vulnerable demographic, have been met with resistance. One organization, that challenges cultural messages about negative body image, started an online petition to raise awareness of the problem at Apple, Amazon and Google,    

Apple and Google have removed at least some of these apps from their app stores in the past. In 2013, an app called Plastic Surgery & Plastic Doctor & Plastic Hospital Office for Barbie, recommended for ages nine and up, was removed from the iTunes Store following backlash online.

This opposition hasn’t discouraged app developers. Many people say these apps take advantage of our collective cultural obsession with cosmetic surgery. Unlike reality TV, however, there’s an explicit gamification at work as they are listed in the Games categories of the App Store and Google Play Store. They promote the idea that a perfect body or face is the goal and that “winning” comes only when you complete a surgery.

Last year, the UK’s Nuffield Council on Bioethics, an independent body that covers issues in medicine, released a report about the ethics of cosmetic procedures. It argued that cosmetic surgery apps were part of a growing trend of “self-monitoring apps,” like calorie-counters and sleep cycle apps; because they allow the user to “measure” one’s own face against an ideal.

“The ‘gaming’ aspect of some of the apps I found made me feel uneasy,” according to Kate Harvey, a senior research officer who contributed to the Nuffield Council report. “The invasiveness of cosmetic procedures, and the potential vulnerabilities of those who might access those procedures, means that ‘playing’ with beauty ideals is a road which should be travelled down very cautiously.”

While most of these plastic surgery apps are rated 17+ or T for Teen, there’s no way to prevent someone younger than 17 from downloading them unless there are parental controls on the phone.

The popularity of these apps isn’t limited to simple games. Medical professionals have begun designing and using legitimate plastic surgery apps that allow potential patients to envision or plan for body-altering operations. For patients, it’s about visualizing their options before going under the knife. For doctors, it’s about making sure patients get what they’re looking for.

(This article originally appeared on theverge.com)

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