Talking Points: should cosmetic surgery be banned for anyone under 18?

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Sunny Hon, 18, Workers’ Children Secondary School

Cosmetic surgery should definitely be banned for minors – people under the age of 18. Minors are not mature enough to make such a big decision. Thanks to the media, a young person might want to change the way they look, even though they might know every surgery has the potential to go wrong, or change the way people think of them. They could, for example, get made fun of if they have surgery so young. That’s why I think that it should be banned.

Paul Fayolle Erwan Kam, 13, Kwok Tak Seng Catholic Secondary School

I think it’s shocking anyone would think that young people should be able to decide to go under the knife for a cosmetic surgery. All important decisions regarding their lives should be made by their parents after they’ve consulted their children. Young people might not think about the risks of surgery. I think it should be banned for anyone younger than 18.

Cici Tse, 16, Fukien Secondary School

I don’t think that cosmetic surgery should be banned for people under 18. Many people undergo cosmetic surgery because they want to be prettier, right? Sometimes it’s not about that. If a person gets horribly disfigured because of a car crash, should they not be allowed to look nice again because they’re too young for the surgery? Think about how many students are out there who have amazing acting skills but are overlooked because they’re not considered pretty or handsome. Surgery helps their dreams become a reality.

Tai Sin-yu, 14, Tin Shui Wai Methodist College

It should absolutely be banned for anyone under 18. I think people who have cosmetic surgery aren’t happy with how they look. confident about their appearance but it may not be the right way to improve the way they see themselves.

Even if you are dating and you don’t think you are good looking, you should find someone who appreciates something besides your outer beauty. That is why it should be banned.

Alvin Leung Cheuk-fung, 14, Kwun Tong Maryknoll College

I think cosmetic surgery should absolutely be banned for anyone under 18. Anyone under that age has got a lot of developing to do, which means their bodies are still developing. If you aren’t happy with something about yourself, then it might still change with a good diet and lots of exercise. You should just be happy, and appreciate what you have. That’s the key to confidence.

Mona Yeung, 12, St. Rose Of Lima’s College

I understand that cosmetic surgery is helpful to have a better image, but do you know about the dark side of it? In my view, l think inner beauty is more important than outer beauty. lf a person is ugly but is kind compared with a mean and rude person who is very beautiful, who will you choose to be your friend? Also, it’s very expensive and may harm your health. So, why should we do this meaningless thing? Instead if you are kind-hearted and nice, you are already beautiful.

Bobby Li, 16, HKSYCIA Wong Tai Shan Memorial College

Cosmetic surgery is going to be popular. Most youngsters want to make some changes to their body in order to become prettier. However, I do not agree with this and think it should be banned for people under 18. Firstly, cosmetic surgery may affect the growth of teens. They are still growing and their bodies may not adjust well to outside changes.

Secondly, teens are not mature enough to make such an important decision for themselves. Teens are easily affected by their peers. They will blindly follow what is trendy in society. They may regret it afterwards, but the surgery may be permanent.

Matthew Lin, 17, Law Ting Pong Secondary School

Unquestionably yes! People under 18 are still going through puberty and learning to grow mentally and physically. People undergo cosmetic surgery for a better appearance and to gain peer recognition. Many of them however, neglect the negative impacts cosmetic surgery mightpotentially bring to their health. In fact, cosmetic surgery can be counterproductive in the sense that the drugs used in the surgery may bring irreversible side effects. Thus, it will be a prudent move to ban cosmetic surgery for people under 18.

Venus Chu, 16, Ma On Shan Tsung Tsin Secondary School

I believe cosmetic surgery shouldn’t be banned for everyone under 18 as it will is an invasion of our freedom. Another reason is that cosmetic surgery can mean a lot to some injured people, they can gain their confidence back after an accident.

Instead of banning it, I suggest educating them. We can learn to be responsible for the choices we make. There’s a Chinese motto saying that our body is a gift from our parents, so we have to take good care of it. Through education, correct core values can be instilled in teenagers, so that they can make wise choices.

Justin Ying, 16, Ma On Shan Tsung Tsin Secondary school

Absolutely! People under 18 are not mature enough and they are vulnerable to peer pressure and popular culture. A multitude of youngsters who are under 18 get obsessed over their idols, K-pop idols in particular. Many K-pop stars have had cosmetic surgery on their face and some youngsters would try to imitate them. If all youngsters blindly jump on the bandwagon of cosmetic surgery, unhealthy values will be fostered and the poor youngsters will suffer low self-esteem because they don’t have sufficient money to get surgery.

In our next Talking Points, we’ll discuss:

Should it be compulsory for all university students to live in a dorm for at least one year?

We are now accepting your answers for this topic. To take part, email your answer with your name, age, and school, along with a nice, clear selfie (make sure it’s not blurry), to [email protected] by lunchtime on Monday. Don’t forget to include “Talking Points” in the subject line.

Edited by Ginny Wong

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