Men working in the U.S. tech industry are increasingly spending thousands of dollars on procedures such as facelifts, neck lifts and eyelid lifts to hide the signs of aging and look competitive.
Men working in the U.S. tech industry are increasingly spending thousands of dollars on procedures such as facelifts, neck lifts and eyelid lifts to hide the signs of aging and look competitive.
This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing comments from plastic surgeons. The publication recalled the words of tech billionaire Peter Thiel, who gave advice to his fellow entrepreneur: «You can’t hire anyone over 30.»
«Our society has traditionally put more pressure on women to look young, but now everyone feels it, especially in Silicon Valley, where you start to be called ‘irrelevant’ if you look old,» said Dr. Timothy Martin, a plastic surgeon in San Francisco.
Dr. Ben Talei, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, said he has seen a fivefold increase in demand from tech professionals in the past five years. Dr. Andrew Barnett, a plastic surgeon in San Francisco, says requests for facelifts from IT workers are up about 25% from pre-Covid levels, and eyelid surgeries are up 50%.
Dr. Steven Sabin, a San Francisco-based psychoanalyst, said his male clients in the tech industry are expressing concerns about «aging.» Some of them have turned to cosmetic procedures. He said the trend began with Botox and similar nonsurgical procedures that are now so common in Silicon Valley that they have become «almost a thing of the past.»
Dr. Martin said that in 30 years of practice, he has seen a change in trends.
«Historically, if men were successful, they were respected regardless of what they looked like, whereas women, no matter how successful they were, had to look good to be admired,» he said.
Men now feel that «their achievements are not enough and they also have to look accordingly.»
Earlier, a 48-year-old HR professional from Ukraine told how he encountered ageism while looking for a job. Pavlo Tkachenko was interested in a recruiter vacancy, but found out that he might not even apply because he did not fit into the company due to his age.
