Botox and fillers have become extremely popular in the United States and across the world. These injections allow women and men to avoid the age-revealing wrinkles that the beauty industry has spent decades- and made billions- trying to eradicate. While I am of the belief that everyone should do what makes them feel good about themselves (injections, plastic surgery, dying their hair, etc.), many people believe that Botox and fillers are negatively influencing the younger generations’ perceptions regarding the process of aging.
Younger people are being made to believe that it is important to avoid wrinkles and other signs of aging, including grey hair. Seeing many celebrities choose to do these age-defying procedures suggests to them that aging is a thing to be afraid of. However, this is not the most sinister result of the preponderance of Botox and fillers. While there are many examples of people running away from aging, there are also many examples of people embracing the aging process.
Rather, the more dangerous side effect of a great number of people choosing to get Botox and fillers is that it may have a negative emotional effect on the younger generation. First, kids who are around adults with Botox and fillers are not exposed to the natural emotional expressions that show on people’s faces. When they try to express emotions then, they do not learn how to express those emotions on their faces. This is part of the psychological theory called “the facial feedback hypothesis, [which] suggests adolescents learn how best to relate to people by mimicking their facial expressions” (Wegrzyn). If people are unable to express empathy and sympathy (along with other emotions), it “might stunt [young people’s] emotional and social development” (Wegrzyn). This will also make communication more difficult for the young adults who opt into botox and fillers, since they will have the “inexpressive frozen faces” that are characteristic of those injections (Wegrzyn). These individuals will possibly have a difficult time expressing their own emotions and getting their feelings across since those communicating with them are unable to read the expressions on their faces.
The increasing amount of botox and fillers in our society will likely severely impact our ability to communicate emotionally with others. This combined with the issues stemming from an increasingly technological society means that many people will become stunted when it comes to communication. While botox and fillers are not inherently bad, they do come with thought-provoking consequences.
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