The world of social media drags individuals into labyrinths from which escape is difficult. Some become addicted, trapped in its cycle. I have heard countless stories of women drowning in the swamp of social media and beauty-related platforms—an endless obsession whose inevitable destination is the operating room for cosmetic surgery. These surgeries cost dearly, and many women pay an even higher price when operations fail—leading to further rounds of corrective and reconstructive procedures that, sadly, often fail as well.
“The results are stunning… you’ll look like this celebrity… like that fashion influencer… you’ll appear twenty years younger!”—these are the kinds of advertisements promoted across social media platforms, eagerly consumed by women, sometimes with reason, often without any.
Let us be fair: cosmetic surgery is not without benefit. It is, in truth, necessary for many people—for women whose age has begun to show and who wish to restore what time has worn away, often for reasons tied to their personal or marital lives; for those who have suffered accidents or disfigurements and want to regain what was lost; for victims of burns or disease that have erased much of their features or beauty. These are legitimate reasons for surgery.
But then there are the young women—and men too—who spend hours scrolling through beauty feeds, comparing themselves to others, scrutinizing their own faces in the mirror every hour, tracing every line and detail until it becomes their greatest obsession. This leads to severe psychological distress, driven by imitation of others. And that, unfortunately, is addiction in its truest sense.
Self-worth has all but vanished. There is little independence of character, no acceptance of the natural beauty God has bestowed, no appreciation for uniqueness or individuality. The sad reality is that everyone who undergoes cosmetic surgery ends up resembling those before them. We are left with endless replicas—until individuality collapses into caricature.
What is even more disheartening is that cosmetic surgery has become a “style.” If a woman chooses not to pursue it, she risks being labeled backward or out of touch—merely because she values herself and is content with her natural beauty. This is a pressing social issue that demands attention. Not everything said about cosmetic surgery is true. Social media has become a display ground for both the good and the harmful, the truthful and the false.
We must raise awareness among our daughters, our women, and even our young men about this affliction, so they do not fall into the quagmire of addiction to cosmetic surgery. After all, much of what some cosmetic surgeons promote serves no one’s interest but their own.
