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Chronicles

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An overview of “looksmaxxing” apps that rate teen boys' faces and are criticized for worsening the youth mental health crisis; paid app UMAX has 7M+ downloads

I thought “lookmaxxing” was just a meme joke thing.  [embedded post] X: Verne Kopytoff / @vkopytoff : One person claimed to have obtained a chiseled jaw by hitting his face with a hammer (a practice known as “bone smashing") https://fortune.com/... Alexandra Sternlicht / @iamsternlicht : One looksmaxxing app, UMax, ranks higher in the Apple App Store charts than TaskRabbit and Zillow Rentals. In its mildest form, looksmaxxers tell boys to wash their faces; in its most extreme, they tell boys to pummel their jaws to induce micro fractures. https://fortune.com/... Alexandra Sternlicht / @iamsternlicht : NEW: The founder of “looksmaxxing” app UMAX tells me that the company, which launched in December 2023, is making $500,000 per month. The app currently ranks above TaskRabbit and Zillow Rentals on Apple's lifestyle app chart. Psychologists are concerned. https://fortune.com/... Alexei Oreskovic / @lexnfx : Today's latest sign of the apocalypse: Looksmaxxing! ‘Looksmaxxing’ apps that rate teen boys' faces and boast millions of downloads are exacerbating the youth mental health crisis, psychologists say https://fortune.com/... Alexandra Sternlicht / @iamsternlicht : When Fortune searched for “looksmax” on Instagram, it found a video of a user with a chiseled jaw who claimed to have obtained it by hitting his face with a hammer (a practice known as “bone smashing"). The video shows users how to do it, while warning of its dangers.

Fortune Alexandra Sternlicht

Discussion

  • @mhwilliams.bsky.social M.H. Williams on bluesky
    what  —  I thought “lookmaxxing” was just a meme joke thing.  [embedded post]
  • @vkopytoff Verne Kopytoff on x
    One person claimed to have obtained a chiseled jaw by hitting his face with a hammer (a practice known as “bone smashing") https://fortune.com/...
  • @iamsternlicht Alexandra Sternlicht on x
    One looksmaxxing app, UMax, ranks higher in the Apple App Store charts than TaskRabbit and Zillow Rentals. In its mildest form, looksmaxxers tell boys to wash their faces; in its most extreme, they tell boys to pummel their jaws to induce micro fractures. https://fortune.com/...
  • @iamsternlicht Alexandra Sternlicht on x
    NEW: The founder of “looksmaxxing” app UMAX tells me that the company, which launched in December 2023, is making $500,000 per month. The app currently ranks above TaskRabbit and Zillow Rentals on Apple's lifestyle app chart. Psychologists are concerned. https://fortune.com/...
  • @lexnfx Alexei Oreskovic on x
    Today's latest sign of the apocalypse: Looksmaxxing! ‘Looksmaxxing’ apps that rate teen boys' faces and boast millions of downloads are exacerbating the youth mental health crisis, psychologists say https://fortune.com/...
  • @iamsternlicht Alexandra Sternlicht on x
    When Fortune searched for “looksmax” on Instagram, it found a video of a user with a chiseled jaw who claimed to have obtained it by hitting his face with a hammer (a practice known as “bone smashing"). The video shows users how to do it, while warning of its dangers.