Social Media and Plastic Surgery

Vocabulary Questions:

1. What does “alter” mean, “Social media have built-in filters that alter face shape or facial features to fit current beauty trends.”? Give two synonyms of this word and use them in your own sentences.
It means change or modify. “Social media have change the way we interact”. “Technology modifies our behaviour and culture”.

2. What does “go viral” mean, “This gives users an instant picture of what they might look like, and it helps the filters go viral.”? Use this phrase in your own sentence.
Go viral means become popular and the trending topic.

3. What does “ditch” mean, “They also warn that doctors with less training ditch their chosen profession to perform procedures.”? Use this word in your own sentence.
It means to abandon or discard. “Plans for the road were discarded due to social issues”.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is your opinion on plastic surgery?
In my opinion, if the reason is just to become prettier, it is an unnecessary surgery. According to the video, a plastic surgery is in fact a surgery, and a lot of complications could arise in the operating room. To undergo cosmetic surgery is to submit to avoidable danger. Furthermore, if we look at celebrities photos who applied a plastic surgery, the results are not beautiful at all. It should be used only for reconstruction after accidents or serious illnesses.

2. What are the pros and cons of plastic surgery?
The pros are related with beauty in general. Plastic surgery is supposed to offer an improved appearance following the last beauty trends. Regarding cons, the surgery could develop serious complications related to the anaesthesia, the professionals’ doubted abilities, and some psychological issues could also arise as people could not be able to recognise themselves or be unhappy with the results. According to the video, trying to reverse such a surgery is complicated or impossible in some cases.

3. Are people in your country open-minded about plastic surgery? Why / why not?
I think their opinions are 50/50. There are people who agree and people who don’t. And the debate is regarding the advantages and disadvantages I mentioned above.

4. Have you been influenced by social media? In what way?
No, I am not. I hardly use social media, just to read some news, but my new posts are scarce.

5. What do you think of the beauty standards on social media?
I think they show a false reality as those supposed standards are not standardised under any convention. They are just what each social media has selected or defined as beauty. Furthermore, I think society in general nowadays lives in a kind of dichotomy as they want to be independent and individual but also belong to a group and feel like any other member of such group. They want to be alike and at the same time different.

6. Would you be open to get plastic surgery? Why/why not?
No, I would not. Disadvantages surpass advantages and finally, it is a surgery that can be avoided. I would not submit myself to a danger that I can avoid.