Why Selfies Make Your Nose Look 30% Bigger

The rise of smartphone selfies is causing big changes in how people see themselves. Here’s a 2-minute video by Vox that explains why selfies usually make our noses look bigger.

The reason is perspective distortion — a new study has found that a selfie shot at a distance of 1 foot away from your face will show your nose 30% wider at the base and 7% larger in the tip than in a portrait shot at 5 feet.

And this distortion is making a big impact in how people perceive themselves and make decisions about their bodies: in 2017, 55% of facial plastic surgeons reported having patients that were getting procedures to make themselves look better in selfies, up from 42% in 2016.