I am interested in researching this topic because during my senior year of high school I read an article on the skyrocketing popularity of plastic surgery in America and it sparked my interest. I believe that the plastic and cosmetic surgery industry will continue to increase as we move forward in time. I am more interested in the reasoning behind the patients going through with the surgery while knowing the cost and the risks. It makes me wonder if they are completely informed on the topic before going through with the surgery. My argument during this research paper is against the plastic surgery industry. I believe that as a nation, we have much more resourceful places the billions of dollars annually spent on plastic surgery could go towards. I also am a firm believer in the idea that we are made beautiful in our own image. I think that someone, somewhere will love you for what you look like naturally and if you have to change your appearance for someone, they do not like you for who you truly are in the first place. I honestly have no personal experience when it comes to plastic surgery and I do not know anyone personally that has had a procedure done. I definitely would like to know more about the money spent, reasoning behind it, and the procedures itself. 

This article is stating researched facts on plastic surgery. It goes deeper into the history of plastic surgery rather than just present day information. The article also informs the reader on the types, men and women statistics, cost, and recovery time which I think is crucial to know when contemplating cosmetic surgery. The article was written in 2009. I found the article on a website called Dusty Information, Genesis Framework. The author of the article puts no bias into the article meaning there are no opinions on whether they are for or against the surgeries, just known facts. 

This article was published in 2015 and is written on social medias influence on plastic surgery. The question asked before a survey was given was, are patients feeling the pressure and influence from social media to get the cosmetic procedures done? A survey was given to find out people's opinions on the matter using RealSelf, an online information-sharing community. The author of the article puts forth stories and opinions from plastic surgeons. One says "I have just started practice in Beverly Hills, and roughly 60 percent of my patients are from social media, website postings, online advertising or RealSelf." The article displays bias with the information presented but does back it up with the honest survey results. This article is valid and was posted on Modern Medicine Network. Plastic surgery is booming now and social media is as well so there must be a correlation between the two. 

This source is titled Money Spent on Plastic Surgery. This article explored something I have never seen before. It explored the resources of getting loans for your plastic or cosmetic surgery. Medical insurance does not cover plastic or cosmetic surgery so people have created systems that allow people to pay over periods of time on it. The article prevents bias by showing both sides of the loans. The authors states the downsides to the loans as well. The author doesn't have a preference on whether or not they agree with plastic surgery, they simply state the resources available to the public. They warn patients they need to be informed about the procedure and the surgeon before jumping right in. This source was found on Editorial.com as a part of the Natural Beauty section. 

My research question does state a fact, that due to so much emphasis on self-image, plastic surgery is escalating in today's society but it also presents a question as to why that needs to be stopped. The argument is whether one is for plastic surgery or against it. Are you for our nation spending billions of dollars to make themselves simply feel better about themselves or "prettier"? Do you not think that there is somewhere much more resourceful that we could spend our money on? I need to make sure that when reading and researching, I am not too biased. Clearly I will have my opinion on the topic, but I also want to stay open-minded and hear other people's opinions and views on the matter.

