Concern over use of emojis for promoting cosmetic surgery

The Cadogan Clinic, based in Chelsea, London, is calling for more awareness of the impact of social media on self-image.

Surgeons also highlighted concerns over social media accounts of clinics sharing ‘sad’ emojis on pictures of pre-op patients and then happy emojis on post-surgery images.

They described this form of promotion on platforms such as Instagram as “irresponsible”. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) does not prohibit the use of emojis, however, it requires clinics to be responsible in their advertising on social media.