New research claims social media is causing more people to get surgery

An increase in plastic surgery can be attributed to camera phones and social media. Photo / Getty Images

Selfies may motivate people to get nose jobs, new research claims.

Researchers said this is because the short distance between the face and the camera makes nose look 30 per cent larger than normal, according to The Daily Mail.

Furthermore, 42 per cent of plastic surgeons say people opt for nose jobs to improve how they look on Facebook and Twitter.

The study, led by researchers at Rutgers University, shows for the first time the extraordinary extent to which close up images alters a person's central facial feature.

Researcher Dr Boris Paskhover, facial plastics & reconstructive surgeon, told Daily Mail Online these findings aren't surprising.

"People have to be aware that selfies change how your face looks," Dr Paskhover said.

"I notice a lot of my patients come in and show me selfies of what they look like," he said. "And I have to tell them that those selfies aren't accurate."

For the study, Dr Paskhover and his colleagues developed a mathematical model to help describe how much selfie cameras distort the face.

His team's facial model was based on data collected from a random sample of racially and ethnically diverse participants across the US.

They then used the average length and width of noses and heads to determine the perceived change in nose breadth in both males and females at a selfie distance of 12 inches, five feet and infinity.

They found that when taken 12 inches away, selfies increase nose sizes by 30 percent in men and 29 per cent in women compared to photos taken five feet away, a standard portrait distance.

"When the camera's close to the face it makes the nose look larger in proportion," Dr Paskhover said.

"This may motivate people to seek cosmetic surgery," he added.

Researchers said selfies have rapidly become one of the major photographic modalities of in recent years.

In 2014 alone there were over 93 billion selfies taken on Android phones per day.

Research published in 2014 by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery revealed that one in three facial plastic surgeons saw an increase in requests for procedures due to patients being more self-aware of looks in social media.

There's recently been an uptick in cosmetic surgery in recent years, with men and women spending $16 billion to adjust their appearance in 2016 alone.

Dr Thomas Sterry, a board-certified plastic surgeon, told Daily Mail Online that increase can be attributed to camera phones and social media.

"I do a lot of cases now that I wouldn't have a few years ago, only because patients are more aware of what they look like to the public," said Dr Sterry, who was not involved with the study.

"Selfies are abundant and everyone seems to be taking them," he added.

Dr Paskhover said more research is needed on this topic.

"Further studies are necessary to determine whether patients who take frequent selfies are less satisfied with their clinical outcomes and if this distortion informs future medical decisions," he said.

The current study published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery followed the AAFPRS survey last year that found 99 per cent of US surgeons believe celebrity and social media is driving a desire for the perfect selfie.