and photograph (photo) editing applications are increasingly popular sources of inspiration for individuals interested in cosmetic surgery. However, the specific associations between social media and photo editing application use and perceptions of cosmetic surgery remain unknown.OBJECTIVE To assess whether self-esteem and the use of social media and photo editing applications are associated with cosmetic surgery attitudes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSA population-based survey study was conducted from July 1 to September 19, 2018. The web-based survey was administered through online platforms to 252 participants.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Each participant's self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (scores range from 0-30; higher scores indicate higher self-esteem) and the Contingencies of Self-worth Scale (scores range from 1-7; higher scores indicate higher self-worth). Cosmetic surgery attitude was measured using the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale (scores range from 1-7; higher scores indicate higher acceptance of cosmetic surgery). Unpaired, 2-tailed t tests were used to assess the significance of self-esteem and cosmetic surgery attitude score differences among users of various social media and photo editing applications. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the association between social media investment and cosmetic surgery attitudes. RESULTSOf the 252 participants, 184 (73.0%) were women, 134 (53.2%) reported themselves to be white, and the mean age was 24.7 (range, 18-55) years. Scores on the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale from users and nonusers across applications were compared, with lower self-esteem scores noted in participants who reported using YouTube (difference in scores, −1.56; 95% CI, −3.01 to −0.10), WhatsApp (difference in scores, −1.47; 95% CI, −2.78 to −0.17), VSCO (difference in scores, −3.20; 95% CI, −4.98 to −1.42), and Photoshop (difference in scores, −2.92; 95% CI, −5.65 to −0.19). Comparison of self-esteem scores for participants who reported using other social media and photo editing applications yielded no significant differences. Social media investment had a positive association with consideration of cosmetic surgery (R, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.04-0.66). A higher overall score on the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale was noted in users of Tinder (difference in means, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.34-1.23), Snapchat (difference in means, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.71), and/or Snapchat photo filters (difference in means, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.16-0.72). Increased consideration of cosmetic surgery but not overall acceptance of surgery was noted in users of VSCO (difference in means, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.32-1.35) and Instagram photo filters (difference in means, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.01-0.76) compared with nonusers.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study's findings suggest that the use of certain social media and photo editing applications may be associated with increased acceptance of cosmetic surgery. These findings can help guide future patient-physician discussions regarding cosmeti...

IMPORTANCEIn recent years, casual physician attire (fleece jackets and softshell jackets) has become increasingly popular, but to our knowledge, public perceptions of these garments have not been studied. Furthermore, gender biases may result in differing expectations and perceptions of female and male physicians and may be associated with patient rapport and trust building. OBJECTIVE To characterize public perceptions of casual physician attire and implicit gender biases in public assessment of physicians' professional attire. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis survey study used a population-based survey administered via Amazon Mechanical Turk from May to June 2020 among individuals aged 18 years or older who were US residents and for whom English was the primary language.INTERVENTION Survey featuring photographs of a male or female model wearing various types of physician attire (white coat, business attire, and scrubs). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESRespondents' ratings of professionalism, experience, and friendliness of the male and female models in various attire and perceptions of the models' most likely health care profession. Preference scores for various outfits were calculated as the difference between the preference score for an outfit and the mean preference score for the outfit-role pairing. RESULTSOf 522 surveys completed, 487 were included for analysis; the mean (SD) age of respondents was 36.2 (12.4) years, 260 (53.4%) were female, and 372 (76.4%) were White individuals. Respondents perceived models of health care professionals wearing white coats vs those wearing fleece or softshell jackets as significantly more experienced

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the widespread adoption of video calling. A parallel growth in aesthetic surgery demand has been documented. Objectives To identify associations between video call engagement and aesthetic surgery attitudes. Methods We distributed a cross-sectional survey via Amazon Mechanical Turk in November 2020. Respondents were asked to report their time spent video calling, video calling applications and features (eg, virtual backgrounds) they used, and aesthetic surgery attitudes using the 15-item Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale (ACSS; higher scores indicate greater acceptance). We compared ACSS scores between video call users and non-users using Student’s t-tests. We used Pearson’s correlation coefficient to quantify associations between ACSS scores and time spent on calls and multivariable analysis to estimate associations between video call engagement and ACSS scores. Results A total of 295 respondents (mean age, 37.6; 49.5% female) completed the survey. Across all video call applications surveyed, video call users had higher ACSS scores than non-users. Increased time respondents spent looking at their own face on video call was moderately associated with higher ACSS scores (r=0.48, P<0.01), while time spent looking at another person’s face was not associated with a change in ACSS scores (r=0.09, P=0.11). Increased video call use was associated with higher ACSS scores. Conclusions Increased video calling use is associated with increased acceptance of aesthetic surgery. Although the clinical significance of ACSS scores can be better elucidated, plastic surgeons should consider the effects of video calling on patient motivations for aesthetic surgery in the COVID-19 era.