Everywhere online now, every movie, every home video, has been passed through so many filters that people don’t look human any more. Nobody has any lines in their face, their teeth are florescent white, their eyes are filled in and have no veins. Nobody ever looks tired, or natural. Add to the mix the fact that everyone is getting lip implants to look like a blowfish, and I’m just tired of it. I miss seeing real human beings.
It’s just meant to mark you as high status.
Being part of that elite group has social and material benefits, so there’s plenty of reason for people employ these kind of identity markers. Elite groups often have onerous behavior or other requirements - body modification like plastic surgery is quite common. Cranial deformation, foot binding, etc.