Surgeons are increasingly turning away young people who have fallen victim to an online 'hoax' and seeking procedures to look like 'looksmaxxing' influencers, the president of the Irish Association of Plastic Surgeons (IAPS) has revea
led.
It comes as child safety and education experts are advocating for more universal teacher training on how to have authoritative conversations about harmful online content, and for media literacy training to be embedded into school curriculums.
Professor Odhran Shelley, president of IAPS and consultant plastic surgeon at Dublin's St James's Hospital told the Irish Mail on Sunday: 'Any good plastic surgeon will turn people down because, ultimately, we're doctors.
'We're there to restore people to their normal self or to rejuvenate them but not to create an artificial self.'
Looksmaxxing is an online subculture among young men and boys – driven by social media influencers who are often aligned with the toxic manosphere – and who often go to extreme measures to maximise their physical attractiveness.
These can range from intense gym routines and diets to 'mewing' and 'bone smashing'.
Mewing is the process of flattening your tongue against the roof of your mouth to temporarily tighten your jawline.
Bone smashing involves repeatedly hitting your face with a hard object in a bid to enhance the cheekbones or jawline.
Mr Shelley said he has 'absolutely' noticed more people seeking procedures for purely aesthetic reasons since the recent rise in popularity of looksmaxxing influencers.
Looksmaxxing is an online subculture among young men and boys – driven by social media influencers – who often go to extreme measures to maximise their physical attractiveness
The surgeon said some influencers are advertising on behalf of aesthetic clinics in return for treatments and sponsorships.
And he warned these profit-focused alliances create an unhealthy situation where influencers only promote positive outcomes.
'It's absolutely deceiving,' he told the MoS. 'Somebody may say they hit their chin with a hammer to achieve their look, but what they don't say is how it was painful or that they've been left with a permanent scar or broken their teeth.
'It's completely artificial, it's a hoax really.'
He added that influencers might even have body dysmorphia or other issues without disclosing these to followers.
Mr Shelley said that, while there are some young people who genuinely require reconstructive or plastic surgery, a growing number are driven purely by aesthetics.
The latter – often aged in their late teens and early 20s – seek to replicate the looksmaxxing and other influencer content they view online through procedures such as body contouring, implants or rhinoplasty.
He noted that, while body dysmorphia has always existed, 'now more people across the board are considering things like aesthetic or cosmetic intervention.
They may have a lack of confidence in their own appearance, but rather than comparing themselves to a normal successful person, they're comparing themselves to an exaggerated internet personality.'
Mr Shelley was speaking as education experts warned greater teacher training is required as looksmaxxing terminology becomes more prevalent in our schools.
Eoghan Cleary of the Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy Institute (SERP) told the MoS: 'Within half an hour of setting up a social media account as a male student, you get targeted with all of this masculinity-based content and a significant portion of that is to do with looksmaxxing.'
Mr Shelley was speaking as education experts warned greater teacher training is required as looksmaxxing terminology becomes more prevalent in our schools
He noted many male teenagers are desperate for a sense of belonging, making them vulnerable to online influencers who feed them damaging content.
'These influencers have realised that men are just as insecure and in need of a clear sense of identity and belonging. There's a massive vulnerability there to be exploited if you can tell a young man what he needs to be a successful man in the world.'
Mr Cleary said more needs to be done to protect children from online harm.
'Unfortunately, teachers are not universally trained to have these conversations, and they're not universally trained to be experts in what the kids are seeing, because what kids see online is not what adults see online,' Mr Cleary said.
'It is way beyond the remit of parents and teachers to be able to protect children online. What I'm seeing more and more is this narrative that we need to educate children younger about protecting themselves online, but that's an absolute disaster.
'It is not a child's responsibility to protect themselves from harm, that's our responsibility as a society, and the Government needs to step in and do their job.'
Alex Cooney, CEO of the child safety agency CyberSafeKids, also called for more training for teachers on how to handle discussions around often taboo topics.
She said a more radical approach is required by the authorities, and that media literacy skills should be embedded into the curriculum, not just in stand-alone sessions.
'The fact that children are spending so much of their time in these online environments means it's just not enough.'
Alex Cooney, CEO of the child safety agency CyberSafeKids, also called for more training for teachers on how to handle discussions around often taboo topics
Mr Cleary said there is a lack of space for young people to talk about topics such as looksmaxxing with trusted adults who have their best interests at heart.
And he added: 'When they get given a chance to become critical of these things, they realise very quickly that they're being exploited and that the messages they're being served are really dangerous.
'If we don't create real life spaces for these young people to engage with real-life individuals who actually care about them and contribute to their lives in a healthy way, where else do we expect them to go and find their sense of belonging?'
The Department of Education and Youth said it is committed to ensuring schools are safe, inclusive and supportive environments for all students.
It noted social media, digital literacy, and the impact of online content are addressed through the SPHE [Social, Personal and Health Education] curriculum, where students learn about web- based misinformation, emotional wellbeing and cyberbullying.
'Looksmaxxing': A glossary
A so-called influencer shows followers his 'only skin routine'
Ascending - When a former 'incel' (involuntarily celibate) uses looksmaxxing to improve their appearance and have sex with a woman.
Bone smashing - Taking a hard object such as a hammer to the face in an effort to achieve more chiseled features. Not medically recommended.
Chad - A muscular, handsome man presumed to sleep with a lot of women – and the prototype alpha male. Female equivalent: Stacy.
Foid/Femoid - A derogatory term for a woman, portmanteau of female humanoid.
Jestermaxxing - Tying to be attractive by being fun rather than obsessing over appearance – frowned upon in the looksmaxxing community.
Mewing - Posturing one's tongue, sometimes using aids, in order to improve jawline definition and facial structure. Orthodontists say it doesn't work.
Mog/Mogging - To one-up another man in physical attractiveness.
Sexual Market Value (SMV) - The measure of where you stand in the 'sexual marketplace'. The main indicator of a person's worth.
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