Influence of Social Media on Cosmetic Procedure Interest

BACKGROUND: Social media is increasingly cited as a contributing factor to the rising public interest in cosmetic procedures. By tracking online search interests, Google Trends (GT) can help quantify these trends. OBJECTIVES: We used GT (trends. google.com) to explore trends in online interest in cosmetic procedures and compare how effects differed by procedure type and their relation to medical specialty. METHODS: Google Trends search term data was collected and compared with annual Instagram and Facebook user counts. Linear regression evaluated search trends over time, and Pearson correlations were used to compare terms. A Benjamini-Hochberg adjustment for multiple comparisons resulted in significance set at p<0.02, except for comparisons between specialties, for which p<0.01 was significant. RESULTS: The terms dermatologist, Botox, Juvederm, Radiesse, CoolSculpting, Kybella, and facelift are increasing in popularity, whereas the terms Restylane, liposuction, rhinoplasty and breast augmentation are decreasing in popularity (p<0.02). No change was observed for other terms. The terms dermatologist, Botox, Juvederm, Radiesse, CoolSculpting and Kybella were associated with both Instagram and Facebook users, but blepharoplasty and rhinoplasty were only associated with Instagram users (p<0.01). Searches for Juvederm and facelift were only associated with the term dermatologist, and searches for Sculptra, blepharoplasty, and rhinoplasty were only associated with plastic surgeon (p<0.01). For all other search terms, significant correlations were seen with both specialties. CONCLUSION: Online interest in noninvasive cosmetic procedures is increasing, potentially driven, in part, by social media. Interest in dermatology is also increasing, creating a need for dermatologists to respond to these shifts in market trends.