Publication Date
2021-08-27
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Dermatology | Infectious Disease | Mental and Social Health | Psychiatry and Psychology | Virus Diseases
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply disrupted daily life across the globe, with profound effects on mental and physical health. After more than a year of isolation and communication via videoconferencing, people are returning to in-person activities.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate worsening self-perception, mental health, and anxiety with the return to in-person activities, with a focus on the influence of videoconferencing, social media, and the use of filters.
Methods: An anonymous survey was distributed online through social media platforms and student network pages.
Results: A total of 7295 participants responded to the survey. Seventy-one precent reported anxiety or stress related to returning to in-person activities, and nearly 64% sought mental health support services. Thirty-percent stated they plan to invest in their appearance as a coping strategy to deal with the anxiety of returning to in-person, and > 30% plan to take action in changing their appearance. The most reported dermatologic concerns were skin discoloration (32.36%), wrinkles (24.45%), and acne (14.85%). The prevalence of anxiety and mental health services increased relative to the use of filters in 18- to 24 year-olds.
Conclusion: This survey study of > 7000 participants across the country elucidates worsening self-perception, anxiety, and mental health as we return to in-person activities in relation to increased videoconferencing, social media usage, and the use of filters. Physicians should be aware of these effects to better serve their patients.
Keywords
Body dysmorphia, Cosmetic dermatology, Esthetics, Self-perception
Rights and Permissions
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Women’s Dermatologic Society. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
DOI of Published Version
10.1016/j.ijwd.2021.08.009
Source
Silence C, Rice SM, Pollock S, Lubov JE, Oyesiku LO, Ganeshram S, Mendez A, Feeney F, Kourosh AS. Life after lockdown: Zooming out on perceptions in the post-videoconferencing era. Int J Womens Dermatol. 2021 Aug 27;7(5Part B):774-779. doi: 10.1016/j.ijwd.2021.08.009. PMID: 35028381; PMCID: PMC8714587. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
International journal of women's dermatology
Related Resources
PubMed ID
35028381
Repository Citation
Silence C, Rice SM, Pollock S, Lubov JE, Oyesiku LO, Ganeshram S, Mendez A, Feeney F, Kourosh AS. (2021). Life after lockdown: Zooming out on perceptions in the post-videoconferencing era. COVID-19 Publications by UMass Chan Authors. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2021.08.009. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/covid19/342
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Dermatology Commons, Infectious Disease Commons, Mental and Social Health Commons, Psychiatry and Psychology Commons, Virus Diseases Commons