In this episode, Dr. Roberto Garcia talks with two young patients, Elaina and Eva, about how social media, filters and hurtful comments can influence the way young people see themselves and the decisions they make about rhinoplasty. They discuss celebrity and AI-driven beauty ideals, the challenges parents face when supporting their children through these choices, personal experiences with confidence after surgery, and strategies for coping with online negativity. The conversation closes with a reminder that resilience matters—and that good decisions come from good information.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: You’re listening to The Confident Choice Podcast with me, Dr. Roberto Garcia, a double board-certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Honest conversations and expert advice about the decisions that make you feel your best.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: All right, welcome everybody to Season 2 of The Confident Choice. I cannot tell you how many people have come up to me randomly and said, “I love your podcast.”
Elaina: Really?
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Yeah! Our podcast has truly crossed the barrier of what podcasts are supposed to be in the sense that we’re about empowering our patients. We want you guys to have all of the right information because, again, what am I fighting against? And this is what we’re going to talk about today. I’m fighting against social media and the wrong information.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: I have two really special guests today. Elaina is going to be a sophomore at the University of Alabama.
Elaina: Yes.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: I’m not going to say “Roll Tide.”
Elaina: I’ll say it. Roll Tide!
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Because I care about you! And then my daughter, Eva. They’ve both had surgery here, and they’re going to talk a little bit about it if they want. Eva is a rising freshman at the University of South Florida.
Eva: Go Bulls!
Dr. Roberto Garcia: All right, that one I will say because I’m paying for it! I’m really honored to have you guys here. This has been so fun. We’ve been trying to get Elaina on this for a while, and then she and Eva became friends. I actually used my daughter to influence you to come onto our podcast.
Elaina: No, thank you for having me. I would have done this in a heartbeat.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Well, it’s fun. It’s a lot of fun. We have several things that we’ve come across over the last several years and the impact of social media. When we started, it was Facebook, right? Then Facebook became for the old people. Then it was Instagram, which still kind of is, and now it’s TikTok. And I’ve come to believe that Snapchat is now a way that you guys communicate with one another, right?
Eva: No one really actually picks up the phone and talks.
Elaina: I hate Snapchat.
Eva: I don’t like Snapchat either, but that’s the only way my friends communicate.
Elaina: Yeah, that’s how all my friends communicate. I’m more like, “Call me or text me.” I don’t like Snapchat.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Why?
Elaina: It can be used wrong in so many ways. Somebody can have your location on, or there’s something called a Snap Score, and that can determine who you are as a person. A Snap Score is how many snaps you’ve sent and received in your lifetime, so it can be used against you. I don’t think that’s a good first impression when you meet someone. If you’re going out and getting a job, they’re not going to ask you for your Snapchat. They’re going to get your number. It’s just not my cup of tea.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: What do you think?
Eva: I just feel like doing all the streaks is a chore. You have to snap everyone. I only snap like three people now. I never actually keep a streak. If you think I’m going to keep a streak, you’re wrong! But I agree with the Snap Score thing. If it’s high, people can make assumptions about you. If it’s lower, people might think, “Oh, you’re a genuine person.”
Dr. Roberto Garcia: So, do you guys know that whatever you put on social media is a permanent stamp on your life? Your parents have probably said this. That’s scary. You comment on something or say something that may be contrary to somebody else’s views, and let’s say four years from now you’re applying for a job. That person is going to scour your social media. You guys, that is scary. Social media does have good uses. We use it in our practice as a form of education. We want everybody to have more information. But Elaina, when you were thinking about having a rhinoplasty, what was your thought process?
Elaina: When I first started posting on TikTok, I would always get comments from people saying stuff about my nose. Even in person, people would say things. Most of it was online hate. Then, if I was insecure about something, I would look very harshly at other people I saw on social media. Honestly, they could FaceTune it. Not everything you see online is real. If I’m looking at somebody’s TikTok and I see that they have a smaller nose, I start comparing myself. That’s honestly what inspired me to get one in the first place—all of the hate. It’s really sad because I was 16 years old when I got it done. No 16-year-old wants to be receiving hate from a mother with four kids. As soon as you send that hate comment, I start looking at every other person who comes across my For You page, my Instagram feed or Snapchat and comparing how their nose looks to mine. That’s when I really started looking into getting a rhinoplasty.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: So negative comments opened your mind to it. You never thought about it prior to that?
Elaina: Well, my sister did get one, but I never once thought I was going to get a rhinoplasty until I started getting those comments, which is really sad. But I’m glad I did because I had a deviated septum, so it was a little harder to breathe. It obviously helped me, but it kind of sucks that one comment can send you toward getting a rhinoplasty.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: That’s very sad. I didn’t know that. I’m sorry.
Elaina: No, it’s okay.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: But in a way, I’m happy because it brought you to me. What about you, Eva?
Eva: I always had a deviated septum, and it was very hard for me to breathe, especially when I was sleeping. Whenever I got sick, it was even worse. So when I was 14, I said, “Can I get a nose job?” And you said, “Talk to me when you’re 16.” So I waited two years. I turned 16, and like 10 days later, I was like, “Can I get a nose job?” No one ever really commented on me or anything. I was just always insecure about the shape of my nose. I had a little bit of a hump, and I always had some insecurity about it. So I talked to you about it, you said yes, and then I got it done.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: But you know that was a hard conversation for a dad to have, right? I’m in a unique position because I’m a dad who can fix the problem surgically. That’s a hard thing because you envision your child as perfect. I always thought you were perfect and always will think you’re perfect. But as a father, when you’re standing next to somebody who has that perception of their face, it’s not your decision. It’s not my decision as the father to tell you whether you need a rhinoplasty or not. It’s my decision to be supportive of you because I’m not in your head. I’m not feeling the pain you guys were feeling whenever you would take photographs or when very mean-spirited people commented about you. That’s a hard thing for a lot of parents to understand.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Your mom probably at first said, “No, Elaina. You’re beautiful. You don’t need it.”
Elaina: Yes.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: She didn’t jump into it and say, “Yes, of course. Let’s go do it.” Because parents see you in a different light. Would you guys say social media has had a positive impact since your surgery? Do you think about your nose less?
Elaina: Yeah, I’m definitely more confident. When I first got those comments and I would take pictures and my nose would be to the side, that’s the only thing I would look at. Now I’m obviously more confident with my nose. But even though I got a rhinoplasty, people will still find a way to say something is wrong with it. They always will. Personally, I’ve gained more confidence, and I don’t really look at other people’s noses the way I used to because I was so insecure about mine.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: People will always find a way to bring somebody else down. You guys have to know that there’s no one on this earth who owns your emotions. Your emotions are yours. No one can take rent in your brain. Do not succumb to the negativity of what others think. At the end of the day, they’re not living your life. You have to brush it off and grow thick skin. Elaina, I’m sure that with the influence you have on social media, you receive negative things all the time.
Elaina: Yeah. Especially when I was rushing at Bama. I would look at who was commenting, and it would be a mother with four kids, and in her bio it would say, “God is good” or “Believe in yourself,” and then they’re commenting on an 18-year-old girl’s page who’s just trying to show her outfit of the day. At the time, I was very upset about it, and I drifted away from posting for a little bit. But at the end of the day, it’s not about me. They’re probably insecure about themselves because of something else going on in their lives. So I learned to just brush those comments away. I don’t even read the comments anymore. That’s easier for me because then I’m not losing any confidence.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Good for you. Ignore it. That’s probably the best thing. I’m going to tell you guys a funny story. We recently did an Instagram post. My other daughter, Isabella Garcia, went around the office and asked, “Who do you want to win, Argentina or Spain?” How many people ended up viewing that?
Eva: I think a little over 70,000.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Over 70,000 views. They asked me, and I said, “Well, I was born in Spain, so I’m going to root for Spain.” One person commented, “Well, if he was born in Spain, why doesn’t he speak Spanish?” My wife responded that I’m bilingual, but we were doing an English post. Somebody says something like that and you could let it get to you, or you can just move on.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: You talked a little bit about photography enhancement. What’s the word where people can change the way they look?
Elaina: Filters.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Can somebody do a live video filter?
Elaina: On TikTok, I know you can. If you’re making videos, you can put a filter on the whole time the video is recording. I think these influencers that young kids are looking up to are using these filters, and the kids are comparing themselves to what the filters look like—not the actual person. That can really bring down their self-esteem. It’s sad because these influencers know they have a younger audience that is constantly looking up to them.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: What kind of filter would it be?
Elaina: For example, they can contour their nose.
Eva: There’s one called “Posh” that everyone uses.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: And how does it work?
Eva: It just makes you look snatched. Your face looks really snatched, but it looks somewhat natural.
Elaina: But then if you’re doing a dancing video, the filter is going to glitch!
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Tell those of us in the older world: What does “snatched” mean? Eva, can you explain?
Eva: Basically, everything looks kind of perfect. You have a perfect jawline, perfect nose, perfect cheekbones.
Elaina: Everything is more enhanced. Your jawline will be more enhanced. You can even use filters to change other proportions. It’s crazy.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: That’s a nightmare for me because patients do come in with these images. I recently had a rhinoplasty patient come in with a filtered image and say, “I would like my nose to look like this.” We went through the computer morphing process, and she said, “Good, because this is what AI told me I needed.” AI is telling a patient what they need over the actual surgeon who has seen them, physically examined them and come up with a plan. Think about that.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Then I had a lady come in with an AI-generated, “snatched” jawline and ask, “Is this feasible?” She showed me essentially the jawline of a 30-year-old. I told her that at 65, I thought we could get close, but realistically we might not hit it right on the mark. You’re sitting there competing with a bot.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Let’s talk about celebrity influence. The Kardashians—are they still a thing?
Elaina and Eva: Yeah.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: What’s the show you guys are watching right now?
Eva: It just finished. Love Island.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: There are going to be people on there who are very attractive. There may be certain things you want to have like them. It may not be their physical appearance; maybe it’s clothing. Why do you want a celebrity to be that big of an influence in your life?
Eva: I’m not really sure, but I can give an example. If a celebrity is helping the homeless, that’s kind of an influence. You might think, “I would love to do that too and contribute more to that community.”
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Exactly. I’m asking whether you measure these individuals only by aesthetics, or whether you look at the person. Are they a good person? Do they do good things? Are they helping others? Does what kind of person they are factor into the conversation?
Elaina: Yeah. I’ll use Alix Earle as an example. She’s very good-looking, but she also does things for the community. She goes to homeless shelters and will cook meals, and she’ll have her friends come help her. That’s somebody I would want to look up to, not just because she’s pretty, tall and skinny, but because she’s also doing good for the homeless and donates to charities. That’s something I specifically look at.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Yeah, that’s cool. So, guys, the semester is going to start now. Are you excited?
Elaina and Eva: Yes.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Elaina, what sorority did you go into?
Elaina: Delta Zeta.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Do you guys do hazing? Don’t lie to me!
Elaina: No, we don’t haze.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Well, that’s good. Sororities are a good opportunity to influence and lead other young people.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: I’m going to finish with my favorite section of the podcast. My dad died a year ago. He was very influential in my life, and I’m going to tell you guys something he taught me.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: My dad said, “You are going to face a litany of moments in your life where you are challenged to quit.” I had completed four years of college, four years of medical school, five years of residency, and I was in the second-to-last month of fellowship. I was in the second-to-last month of my 14th year of education, and I almost quit.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: I was studying for the ENT board exam. I was stressed out. We had no money. I was making $1,100 a month as a fellow. We had a baby. Fellowships are very stressful. I remember calling my brother. I was in tears, sitting in a parking lot, and I said, “I’m done.” He said, “Remember what Dad says. Don’t quit today. Wait one day. Think about it. If tomorrow morning you still think you want to quit, then you quit.” And I said, “All right, I’m not quitting today.”
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Whenever you’re faced with anything in life that’s challenging—anything prompting you to say, “I’m out”—just because you get knocked down time and time again doesn’t mean that today you quit. Give yourself one more day. The person who gets knocked down repeatedly and gets back up is the person who ends up building the empires of life. I’ve failed thousands of times, but I never gave up. I gave myself one more day.
Elaina: That’s very good.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: Take that one. Don’t forget it. Today, things are easier to get instantly. So the expectation of, “I don’t really want to fight for it,” can enter your mind. Don’t let it. If it’s hard, it’s good.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: All right, that is going to conclude Episode 1 of Season 2. You guys, thank you so much for being on our show. It’s truly an honor. You both are beautiful young women, and I’m really glad that you’re going to go out and make a huge difference because right now, you’re already making a huge difference. So keep at it. Proud of you.
Elaina and Eva: Thank you.
Dr. Roberto Garcia: We look forward to seeing you next time. And remember, everybody: Good decisions come from good information. See you soon.
Under the direction of visionary double board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Roberto Garcia, Contoura Facial Plastic Surgery offers the latest surgical and non-surgical procedures in a relaxed and serene setting. Schedule a virtual or in-person consultation today to get the first glimpse of your future self.
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