Remember the good ol’ days of making a phone call from — gasp — your rotary phone in the kitchen while carefully dialing the numbers on the rotating dial pad? What a pain. Back in those days, mobile communication technology was still in it’s infancy. In fact, at that time mobile communication technology was considered science fiction! The thought of being able to make a phone call from a touch screen phone, let alone anything other than a land line, was unimaginable.
Fast forward to today, and mobile communication systems have revolutionized the ways in which we communicate and do business. We have become increasingly dependent on mobile communication devices such as smart phones and tablets, and now smart watches. Our lives on dependent on wireless mobile communication to the point of addiction.
Thanks to the advent of smart phone technology, selfies (short for self portraits) have become the norm. Apps such as Instagram and Snapchat in addition to other social media platforms are rife with a variety of selfies. Users take selfies in order to express their current mood or to mark and important moment in their life, such as getting married or meeting their favorite entertainer. However, psychologists are concerned with society’s reliance on technology and social media as well as the obsession with selfies.
Researchers have attributed selfies to higher instances of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), which has led to increases in plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures at young ages. Why? Users are trying to keep up with Joneses. In pursuit of the perfect selfie rivals those of celebrities (many of which are digitally enhanced), users are turning to plastic surgery in order to change their appearance. Common procedures rhinoplasties, breast augmentation, Botox, and lip fillers and injections.
Many activists and even celebrities have come forward to urge social media users to accept themselves as they are, and to avoid comparisons. Some have even gone as far as to post un-retouched photographs of themselves without make up in order to reinforce the message.
While mobile communication technology has been instrumental in expediting communication, it has also created societal pressures.
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