It turns out that taking a selfie can make your nose look bigger than it really is, according to a study by Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Cosmetic surgeon Dr. Boris Paskhover says that he noticed a few years ago that more people were coming to see him about getting cosmetic surgery on their noses because they felt that their noses were too big or out of shape. 

A survey found that 42 percent of plastic surgeons nationwide also reported seeing an uptick in cosmetic surgery requests. Paskhover says that he thought that it may actually be an illusion from taking a selfie and he set out to prove it.

“Since it’s closer to the camera, it appears larger,” Paskhover says.

Paskhover authored a study titled “The Distortive Effects of Short Distance Photographs on Nasal Appearance” or “The Selfie Effect.”

“We compared it at 12 inches, which is an average selfie length and at 5 feet, which is a standard photographic distance for portraits,” the doctor says. “We found when you compare the two, the selfies end up distorting the nose by about 30 percent.”

Paskhover says that selfie-takers should try to hold their phones and cameras further away from their faces – this will not make the nose look as big.