As a young woman who actively participates on social media, I would be lying if I said I don’t compare myself to other girls. For instance, it is so easy to look at a picture on my feed and think about how much prettier or skinnier someone else is compared to myself. This is exactly the type of toxic ideology that social media implement’s in young women’s minds.
What you see on social media, isn’t always reality and this statement couldn’t be more true. As social media becomes more popular, so does the term “picture perfect.” The app Face-tune, allows women to edit their “flaws” away for the “picture perfect” post. If you are unaware what Face-tune is, it is a platform, used to edit physical characteristics from your hair color, slimming your waist or arms, to completely changing the background of a picture. Therefore, it is used as a photoshopping app. This may seem empowering for women but it can actually be very harmful to young girls.
With famous and influential women using the Face-tune app and posting the result on social media, it can create false hope for an unattainable body type. A Face-tuned picture could negatively affect the self esteem of a young woman insecure about her body. She may question why she is not as skinny, or as pretty as the girl in the picture. However, little does she know that the girl in the image may feel the exact same way about herself.
An example of this is the famous TikTok Influencer, Livvy Dunne, using photoshop. Some of her followers have posted side by side comparisons of her instagram posts, showing her edited pictures vs not. Livvy Dunne, seemingly photoshopped her shoulders and torso to be smaller in comparison to her original picture being compared. With constantly being in the public eye, it is no secret why she would want to look perfect in her pictures. However, some women may envy Livvy Dunne for her body type, when in reality, her body may not look exactly like her pictures. Therefore, this creates a sense of false hope for an unattainable beauty standard.
Mental Health
Moreover, it is important to be conscientious of how social media and the use of facetune can affect someone’s personal image of themselves and their mental health in general.Researchers have discovered that certain exposure to photos on social media platforms can contribute to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders among teen and adolescent girls. Ultimately, leading to serious mental health issues.
Additionally, with unrealistic appearances being displayed and consumed by users, teens’ negative perceptions of their bodies may deter them toward extreme dieting trends. In another study published in PLOS Global Public Health, it was discovered that repetitive online exposure to largely unattainable physical ideals may result in a distorted sense of self and eating disorders. In another study, Social Media and Youth Mental Health, teenagers were asked about the impact of social media on their body image. The results from this study are concerning. It was stated that 46% of adolescents aged 13-17 said that social media makes them feel worse about their body image. Isn’t this statistic upsetting?
As women, we should be able to embrace our selves on social media without feeling like we need to edit certain physical features away and promote perfectionism. In todays day and age, we should never let an app dictate our perception of beauty. We are all beautiful inside and out, and we don’t need a photoshop app to lead us to believe otherwise. However, it is so important to be mindful of what is being posted on social media by others and that the image on their feed may not always be reality.
Let’s continue to empower each-other for our natural beauty.
You are beautiful!
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