No amount of Instagram filters will fix this.
Influencers might seem glamorous on social media, but their smoldering looks apparently won’t last. Experts at the gambling site Casino.org have devised a grotesque model of what these content creators will look like in the year 2050 complete with patchy skin, a hunchback and chronic neck pain.
“While the career can be glamorous, it can also bring significant changes to our lifestyle,” wrote the gambling experts. They reportedly wanted to see how the “trendy profession” — which boasts 30-50 million adherents worldwide and is growing by 10-20% each year — can impact appearances over time.”
They deduced that “algorithm-chasing, beauty standard pressures, and non-stop content creation can take a visible toll on both body and mind.”
To illustrate this point, Casino.org devised Ava, a digitized representation of the complications of years of content creating, like Oscar Wilde’s 1890 Gothic tale “The Picture Of Dorian Gray” for the social media age.
“From endless brand trips to Las Vegas to the daily grind of filters and photo shoots, her lifestyle has left its mark,” they cautioned. “Backed by medical research, Ava’s appearance is the sum of influencers habits.”
The Hunchback of Instagram
The influencer’s sedentary, screen-saturated lifestyles will literally backfire on them. To wit, Ava’s prolonged social media and smartphone use, and hours of posing under ring lights have left her with rounded shoulders, a permanent forward head tilt, and chronic neck pain known as “tech neck.”
“Some researchers have suggested that frequent smartphone use can lead to the use of a non-neutral neck posture or the development of musculoskeletal disorders,” write experts in the journal Interdisciplinary Nuerosurgery. “This flexed neck posture can increase the pain of the cervical spine and induce muscle strain in adjacent portions of the cervical spine.”
This is particularly unsettling given that influencers work up to 90 hours per week, much of which is spent on their phones, according to the BBC.
Under the skinfluence
Much like in the prescient sci-fi thriller “The Substance,” social media stars’ pursuit of aesthetic perfection may have paradoxically destined them for ugliness.
Ava boasts skin irritation, inflammation and patchiness from “daily layers of makeup, frequent skincare product swaps, and constant cosmetic application, Casino.org writes.
This comes amid a rise of people flocking to Turkey to undergo cheap beautification procedures, which can result in injury and even death in some instances.
Of course, people don’t need to go under the knife to destroy their dermis. Long-term exposure to LED lighting such as ring lights and screens can accelerate cause pigmentation changes, fine lines, and lasting inflammation — a condition known as “digital aging,” per the site.
Not easy on the eyes
Hours spent editing and livestreaming content can unsurprisingly take a toll on one’s peepers. Known in medical circles as digital eye strain or computer vision syndrome, the condition boasts symptoms ranging from constant redness and dryness, to blurry vision and deep dark circles ringed by puffy under-eye bags, as the Ava model illustrates.
To mitigate this ocular side effect, remote workers should employ the 20-20-20 rule. For every 20 minutes spent staring at a screen, work-from-homers should look away at something that is 20 feet away from them for 20 seconds, per Healthline.
Constantly checking content or interacting with fans can also result in a lack of sleep (influencer-somnia?) due to the heightened adrenaline and blue light emitted from screens that disrupts our circadian cycle.
Losing face and lock-blocking
Ava boasts an uneven and distorted face from years of facial filler use.
Inspired by trends like “Snapchat Dysmorphia” and “Pillow Face Syndrome,” this cosmetic “overcorrection results in puffy cheeks, a pointed ‘witch chin,’ and an artificial facial texture,” per the site.
Influencers’ constant obsession with their hair through extensions and styling can also ironically cause “bald spots, a receding hairline, and overall hair thinning that’s hard to reverse,” per the site.
“The weight and constant tugging at the hair follicle can lead to a condition called traction alopecia,” warned dermatologist and alopecia expert Aamna Adel in a reel, per Casino.org.
“Over time, it can be irreversible and it can lead to permanent hair loss.”
“Ava is more than a concept image – she’s a reflection of the long-term effects these habits can have,” Casino.org declares.
“The takeaway is simple: balance the ambition, set boundaries around your work, and remember that health and well-being will always outlast trends.”