Some apps have been accused of promoting
plastic surgery and unrealistic beauty standards to children. Apps like
Beauty Clinic Plastic Surgery and Plastic Surgery Simulator turn medical
procedures for the sake of beauty into a game, CBS News reports. App
users can perform different cosmetic surgeries like nose jobs and lip
injections on animated characters to change their appearance.
The games were targeted in a change.org petition using the hashtag #surgeryisnotagame.
More than 128,600 people signed the petition asking Apple, Google, and
Amazon to remove the games or make them "less appealing" to kids.
"Certainly when you look at some of the images in the app, they
certainly look like they're geared toward young children," plastic
surgeon Dr. David Cangello told CBS News. "The concern is that this is
unmonitored and young kids have access to these apps."
Cangello said plastic surgery is not something children are mature
enough to process.
"At early ages we want to be promoting positive self body image and I
think that plastic surgery, particularly cosmetic surgery, is more of an
adult subject. There are things we don't just talk to our kids about,"
he said. "We don't talk to them about alcohol. We don't talk to them
about sex until it's emotionally age-appropriate, and I think cosmetic
surgery fits into the same subject matter."
Cangello continued that some surgeries are sometimes medically necessary
for children.
"I don't think there's any debate that reconstructive type procedures
for craniofacial anomalies is certainly acceptable," he said.
Cangello said that social media has "changed the game" when it comes to
children being aware of and picking apart their appearance at younger
ages.
"Now, kids have smartphones that have cameras on them and they're
constantly taking selfies," he said "so they're always analyzing their
appearance and not only are they analyzing their appearance but now
they're posting these pictures on social media so they know that the
whole world is going to see these pictures and it's essentially a
permanent photograph of them that will be out there forever."
CBS News reports that a survey by the American Academy of Facial Plastic
and Reconstructive Surgeons recently found that 42 percent of surgeons
said patients want cosmetic surgeries for improved selfies and pictures
on social media.
Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told the Washington Post, "We do not want
nor allow these types of apps on the store. We have rules in place
against these apps and do not offer them on the App Store." The paper
reports a search of the App Store on Tuesday showed that cosmetic
surgery games were no longer available. |
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