People in their 20s and 30s are spending hundreds of dollars to treat or prevent "tech neck."
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Nora Ephron was around 62 when, in 2003, she wrote that she felt bad about her aging neck. Today, a distinctly modern phenomenon known as "tech neck" is leaving people as young as their early 20s feeling the same way.Though not an official diagnosis, the term "tech neck" is popular on social media and recognized by dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and physical therapists. It refers to horizontal lines or creases on the neck, as well as postural changes such as rounded shoulders and a forward head position.Anyone can get tech neck, but based on social media posts, women in their 20s and 30s are most concerned about preventing or "fixing" its signs, with some spending upward of $5,000 to reduce fine lines and improve posture.Lindsey Wallace, a 35-year-old marketing director based in Los Angeles, first learned about tech neck from an Instagram reel."It became my latest fixation when I looked in the mirror, and I noted lines getting deeper. My neck and upper chest was changing at a rate that my face wasn't," Wallace told Business Insider. "As soon as I turned 30, I would say is when I became concerned, but I didn't quite know the term yet, or why the wrinkles were appearing.""Now it all makes sense," she added. "I am hunched over a computer for over 10 hours a day."$5,000 for a fresher neckDr. Kristy Hamilton, a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Houston, Texas, and social media chair of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, told Business Insider that tech neck is "both a musculoskeletal and aesthetic concern."
