Zoom Dysmorphia

After months of endless lockdowns, a new phenomena is emerging as an indirect result. Zoom dysmorphia is causing a spike in demand for cosmetic injectable services.

Where do you look on Zoom calls?

Unintended consequences of the COVD19 pandemic have been far and wide. None more so than a new phenomenon coined ‘Zoom Dysmorphia” Most Australian’s have spent some time working from home and have been introduced to video calling for much of their working day. At Secret Skin Clinics, increasing numbers of patients have remarked to me that they have just noticed new features on their face due to long hours on video calls.

Where do you look on video calls?

A paper published in Facial Plastic & Aesthetic Surgery from Harvard University interviewed a group of patients and found this to true too. Dr Kourosh, an assistant professor of Dermatology asked her colleagues what was driving patients to seek cosmetic injectable procedures. Overwhelming their patients said an increased of using video calling services such as Google Meet and Zoom where leading people to notice features such as jowls, sagging skin and the shape of their nose.

Is Zoom dysmorphia really such a bad thing?

In short – maybe. 

Zoom dysmorphia is just an iteration of the well-known Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). This is characterised by increased self-focused attention and associated stress. This has been replicated by asking patients to spend increasing amounts of time gazing at themselves in the mirror and documenting the results.

Unsurprisingly, subjects that spent more time looking at themselves in the mirror all reported increased levels and stress and anxiety. This was seen even after a short period of time as reported in a paper by researchers at King’s College in London.

So what now?

Speak with your trust cosmetic Doctor about any concerns that you may see in your appearance. Often they can guide to treatments such as dermal fillers or anti-wrinkle injections that might alleviate your concerns. At the same time, be aware that spending too much time looking at one’s self can be symptomatic of bigger issues such as BDD.