What do social media say about makeovers? A content analysis of cosmetic surgery videos and viewers’ responses on YouTube

This study examines portrayals of cosmetic surgery on YouTube, where we found a substantial number of cosmetic surgery videos. Most of the videos came from cosmetic surgeons who appeared to be aggressively using social media in their practices. Except for videos that explained cosmetic surgery proce...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wen, Nainan, Chia, Stella C., Hao, Xiaoming
Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/104736
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/24650
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:This study examines portrayals of cosmetic surgery on YouTube, where we found a substantial number of cosmetic surgery videos. Most of the videos came from cosmetic surgeons who appeared to be aggressively using social media in their practices. Except for videos that explained cosmetic surgery procedures, most videos in our sample emphasized the benefits of cosmetic surgery, and only a small number of the videos addressed the involved risks. We also found that tactics of persuasive communication—namely, related to message source and message sensation value (MSV)—have been used in Web-based social media to attract viewers’ attention and interests. Expert sources were used predominantly, although typical-consumer sources tended to generate greater viewer interest in cosmetic surgery than other types of message sources. High MSV, moreover, was found to increase a video’s popularity.