Snapchat Dysmorphia

Snapchat is a social media platform that allows users to talk to others with short videos and images called Snaps. Snaps have been shown to exploit children’s interest in quick, instant conversations. Snapchat requires users to be at least 13 years old. However, the platform doesn’t enforce age limits well, and many users are younger than 13.

Snapchat has custom lenses and filters that let users change how they look in photos. These tools help young users change their features to be what they perceive as perfect. The new images create unnatural, ideal versions of themselves. The unrealistic depictions can cause serious body image issues in teens, particularly girls.

Snapchat encourages young users to send more and more Snaps. Users who spend more time on the platform get rewarded with higher status. Snapchat also encourages the use of “tools” for sharing sensitive information. Users can then share information with more people, including people they don’t know. 

Snapchat dysmorphia is a body image disorder allegedly caused by Snapchat’s image filters. This feature lets users edit photos of themselves to get rid of what they see as flaws. These filtered images are changing what people think is beautiful. Teens feel pressured to look like the digitally altered version of themselves.

Snapchat dysmorphia is related to body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a mental health disorder. People become obsessed and unhappy with how their chest, face, hair, skin or stomach look. Teenagers are especially vulnerable to this disorder. Their obsession stops them from living a normal life and may lead to these symptoms:

• Avoiding or obsessively checking themselves in mirrors
• Constantly exercising or grooming
• Continually comparing themselves with others
• Feeling anxious, depressed and ashamed of their appearance
• Frequently asking others about their looks and not believing what they say
• Hiding their specific body parts
• Not leaving the house, especially in the daytime
• Picking at their skin
• Seeking medical advice about their appearance
• Shunning social activities
• Suicidal thoughts
• Undergoing unnecessary plastic surgeries

BDD can develop as a result of bullying or teasing. It causes teenagers to feel inadequate, shameful, and afraid of ridicule.
 
Snapchat body dysmorphia can happen when a user doesn’t think they look as good as their filtered photo. This may cause young Snapchat users to feel anxious and depressed. It can also result in eating disorders.

Is Snapchat dysmorphia a real issue?

Snapchat dysmorphia is a real issue. In extreme circumstances, the trend may cause teens to seek cosmetic surgery. They are trying to make themselves look like their filtered images in real life. Some experts have found that social media apps, like Snapchat, are influencing people to get cosmetic procedures.

According to the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery:

• 62% of plastic surgeons have patients who wanted a procedure because they were unhappy with their social media profiles.
• 57% of plastic surgeons have patients who want to look better in selfies. A selfie is a self-portrait taken with a smartphone that has a forward-facing camera.

What is an example of Snapchat dysmorphia?

People can use Snapchat’s filters to change their faces, bodies, skin color and more in photos to “improve” their appearance. They begin to prefer altered images over their actual appearance when other users “like” the edited photos. Users may seek cosmetic surgery to imitate the effect of Snapchat’s filters.

An example of Snapchat dysmorphia could be when a person only likes how their lips look when they make them fuller using a Snapchat filter. The user may try to replicate the fuller look in real life with makeup or by getting lip fillers.

Snapchat dysmorphia may be caused when Snapchat’s lenses and filters are used to create unrealistic, idealized versions of a user’s appearance. These filters blur imperfections, creating the perfect “selfie.” However, these edited photos can lead to severe body image issues in teens.

Because children’s brains aren’t fully matured, they can’t regulate their responses to social rewards the way adults can. Around age 10, a child’s brain begins to seek rewarding stimuli. Rewards, as in Snapchat likes, cause dopamine to flood the brain. Dopamine is a chemical that is important to the brain’s reward system. The brain begins to connect the stimuli to the reward, and the anticipation of the reward triggers a “dopamine rush.” 

Snapchat “likes” give users a dopamine “hit” comparable to drugs and alcohol. When teens get a like on social media, it produces dopamine, giving them pleasure. To the brain, the feeling is very similar to taking a drug, drinking alcohol, or smoking a cigarette.

The Snapchat features that may cause Snapchat dysmorphia include:

• Bold Makeup. Puts makeup on the user’s face, obscures blemishes, evens out skin tone and changes skin color
• Face and Body Mellow Glow. Smooths the face and body and alters the color of the skin
• Smoothing Filter. Hides facial imperfections and creates the appearance of a more even skin tone
• Fluffy Eyelashes. Lifts the user’s eyes and adds more prominent cheekbones to change the shape of the user’s face
• Sunkissed and Cute Freckles. Places freckles over the nose and cheeks, fades imperfections, balances skin tone and modifies skin color

Studies show that Snapchat’s features make it one of the most harmful social media apps for children’s and young teens’ mental health. Snapchat lawsuits claim that defective features like Snapchat’s filters make Snapchat unsafe for children.

How do Snapchat filters affect body image?

Snapchat filters may negatively affect how users see their bodies. Continuous use may harm their mental health. Snapchat’s filters can lead people to compare themselves to others. Constant negative social comparison can lead to body dysmorphia. These injuries to users happen because Snapchat promotes unnatural and unreasonable beauty standards.

Snapchat is designed to encourage social comparisons. Its design may lead to mental and physical harm, including body image issues. Adolescents naturally have bouts of low self-esteem, but Snapchat filters can make these feelings worse. Some Snapchat lawsuits argue that filters promote abuse and compulsive use by teenagers. These harmful behaviors may lead to many negative health effects, such as:

• Anxiety
• Body dysmorphia
• Body image issues
• Depression
• Dissociative behavior
• Eating disorders
• Low self-esteem
• Self-harm
• Sleep disturbances
• Social isolation
• Suicidal ideation

Snapchat filters are designed to enhance a person’s appearance according to conventional, sometimes unattainable, beauty standards. These filters can encourage harmful body image comparisons. As a result, teenagers on Snapchat begin to view their appearance, body and life through the lens of a Snapchat filter. Oftentimes, reality may come up short. 

Teens who spend five hours or more on social media daily are most harmed by platforms like Snapchat. One of the ways they can be affected is by developing Snapchat dysmorphia.Snapchat dysmorphia can lead to BDD, which usually starts during adolescence and affects both male and female teens.

Studies show that of the girls who use social media:

• 52% use filters daily
• 80% changed their appearance with filters before age 13
• 60% are upset if their actual appearance doesn’t match their online persona

Certain factors might contribute to BDD, such as:

• Family history of BDD or a similar mental health condition
• Irregular levels of brain chemicals
• Life experience
• Personality types

BDD tends to get worse with age. Plastic surgery to correct a perceived body flaw rarely helps. If an adolescent or teenager appears troubled about their appearance and needs constant reassurance, it can be a warning sign. If this is the case for you, talk to a healthcare provider or mental health professional as soon as possible. It’s best to catch it early. 

Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Snapchat and other social media companies. These lawsuits allege that the apps are designed to foster overuse and that use is harmful to children and adolescents. These harms include serious mental health conditions like Snapchat dysmorphia.

Studies show that teens who spend more than three hours daily on social media platforms are twice as likely to develop mental health issues. Parents of children and teens harmed by Snapchat filters may be eligible to file a lawsuit against Snapchat.

If you are wondering if you can sue Snapchat, our attorneys can help you determine your eligibility for a social media lawsuit. They understand state and federal laws and statutes of limitations and will help you collect relevant information to file a claim if you are eligible. They will offer support throughout the legal process.

Social media apps have tremendous influence over our lives. Platforms like Snapchat have negatively transformed how young people think and behave, contributing to a national youth mental health crisis. Motley Rice attorneys have worked for years to advocate for children and families harmed by social media companies like Snapchat. If you need help filing a lawsuit related to Snapchat dysmorphia’s effect on your mental health or that of your child, contact our law firm and find out how we can help.

Read more on our social media litigation experience.

Help for self-harm and suicidal behavior

If you or a loved one are in crisis, national resources can help.

• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free and confidential resource that can connect you with a trained staff member. You can call 988 or visit their website: 988lifeline.org.
• The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) is available toll-free at 1-800-931-2237 or at NationalEatingDisorders.org.