Do We Care: Kardashians, social media and plastic surgery

Someone in the Kardashian-Jenner family is in the headlines every day. Last month's headlines were about Kim getting robbed in Paris. Last week they were about Kim's husband Kayne West cancelling his tour and checking into the hospital. Today they are about Kim and Kayne's marital problems. Why is the media so concerned with this family and their personal lives? What is so special about them?

"Keeping up with the Kardashians" has been on television since 2007 and over 2 million people tune in each week to see what the famous family is up to. The family has also taken over social media. Kim has 88.2 million followers on Instagram with younger sister, Kylie Jenner is close behind her with 80 million. Kylie is also the most followed person on Snapchat. They willingness to flaunt their bodies for all to see is what keeps the media talking and their population of fans to grow.

Tonight

A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Sep 17, 2016 at 9:27pm PDT

The Kardashians put a lot of emphasis on their appearance. Most of them have fended off rumors of plastic surgery, saying their extreme hourglass figures are all natural. Many of their followers are younger females who care about appearance. Even though the Kardashians say they haven't gotten any plastic surgery, plastic surgery is on the rise.

fill yourself with adventure ✨

A photo posted by Kylie (@kyliejenner) on Dec 3, 2016 at 10:18am PST

In 2015, minimally-invasive and surgical cosmetic procedures increased by 2 percent since 2014. While procedures like face lifts and breast augmentation went down, buttock lifts and transplants were up 36 percent. There is no direct correlation between the Kardashians and the increase in those procedures, but it is interesting to note that their fans want to look like the big booty sisters with tiny waists.

Utah has one of the highest rates of plastic surgery. Salt Lake City was named the "vainest" city in America back in 2007 due to the large amount of plastic surgeons in the area. In 2010, Utah had the eighth-highest number of of plastic surgeons per capita. Many Utah women are going under the knife to get "mommy makeovers," as do many women in Hollywood, to get their pre-baby body back.

Teenagers are even jumping on the plastic surgery train. In 2014, 64,000 cosmetic surgery patients in 2014 were 13-19 years old. Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, CEO of BeverlyHillsBody told PEOPLE in 2015 "This is directly related to surgery of the stars of the their reality shows, and the acceptance of cosmetic procedures on social media."

While there is no solid proof or direct correlation, but plastic surgery rates keep rising. So, back to the main question of do we care? People like the Kardashians and social media influencers could possibly influence us to change our minds without even trying.