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China’s Selfie Obsession
Article

China’s Selfie Obsession

Meitu’s apps are changing what it means to be beautiful in the most populous country on Earth.

Jiayang Fan
The New Yorker, 2017
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Eye Opening
  • Engaging

Recommendation

It’s said that the camera doesn’t lie, but these days, it does upgrade the truth – especially when it comes to Chinese social media, where at least half of all selfies benefit from beautification through specialized photo-editing apps like Meitu. And the beautification culture spills over into real life when young Chinese, mostly women, ask plastic surgeons to make their faces match their selfies. New Yorker staff writer Jiayang Fan interviewed Chinese Internet developers – as well as cosmetic surgeons and their perfection-chasing patients – about this developing trend. getAbstract recommends Fan’s intriguing look beneath the photogenic surface.

Summary

Young people in China are obsessed with selfies – and looking good in them. With beauty-enhancing smartphone apps, they’re changing their looks online: enlarging their eyes, lightening their skin, whitening their teeth, and inadvertently or not, converging on a homogenized and Westernized appearance. The Beauty Plus app lets users dial in a beauty level of one to seven. It can reshape a face, sharpen a chin, and even make a person taller and slimmer. Filters offer moods like “celestial,” “edge” and – for those who feel the need – “personality.” No one would post a photo...

About the Author

Jiayang Fan is a staff writer for The New Yorker. 

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