The more time adolescents spend on social media, the greater the influence of unrealistic “bod goals.” Plastic surgery is worshipped among celebrities walking not so gracefully down the red carpet. It is also worshipped by the average youth walking down Main Street. The image of beauty has shifted from natural beauty and embracing who you are to trying to look like a Barbie Doll. Scratch that. Barbie’s straight figure ain’t got nothing on the curves you’ve got to rock to make it in this generation.

Many are faced with the fact that puberty will not bless them with the curves of Kim Kardashian or Nicki Minaj’s giant butt (which has had work done to it…trust me). In order to be the spitting image of these celebrities, girls and guys are relying on the knife to transform their insecurities. In the United States, there are 14.6 million cosmetic surgeries completed every year (HRF). But why is one trying to reverse the genetics they were born with? Is it to look like the celebrities or is it really to boost their self confidence in a world where you have to mimic someone else’s unrealistic bod goals?

The “awkward phase” that most teenagers go through is usually what motivates teenagers to consider plastic surgery. Their bodies are undergoing multiple changes at different times and they simply want to fit in. Even celebrity Kylie Jenner admitted to using lip fillers to enhance her appearance as her thin lips were inflicting insecurities. She was only 17 when she started using the lip enhancers and after she admitted her insecurities many teenagers confessed to using lip enhancers. According to a 2014 statistic of American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), teenagers the ages of 13-19 have had 224,000 total cosmetic procedures, 64,000 surgical and 161,000 minimally-invasive. In 2014 the rate of minimally-invasive procedures increased by 3% and the total cosmetic procedures increased by 2%.

Do celebrities’ heavy reliance on plastic surgery influence patient request? Thirteen percent of facial plastic surgeons surveyed saw an increase in requests for celebrity procedures in 2014, up from 3 percent in 2013 and up 7 percent in 2012 (AAFPRS). Aesthetic procedures will likely keep growing, as selfies appear more and more in the media. Young adults constantly look at the edited images of celebrities and compare the curvy or slim figure to their own. But how is one supposed to look like a celebrity? Their bodies have been made up, corrected, and photo shopped so much that it is impossible for the average teen to live up to these unrealistic expectations. Though people know the bodies are altered, they still attempt to resemble the idols on the front cover.

There is a dramatic increase in plastic surgery over the years. Why this has happened may lie within the conscious of the patient. Perhaps it has much to do with self-confidence. According to a long term study conducted by Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, patients who had undergone plastic surgery found that they were happier, healthier, and more satisfied with their bodies. A result that would ultimately come with many other adolescents as their bodies grow and change to their desired figures.

In 2015 there is too much pressure to “fit in.” The world focuses more on physical beauty than the quality of a person. Body comparison is not healthy for the youth of our country. The model of beauty that adolescents look to should not be altered, but real, average, and flawed.