How Does Snapshots Affect Society

This article talks about how photoshop allows advertisers to give models different body types that they did not had before. The false images affects the way that people see beauty in an unrealistic way, also false image cause low self-esteem and negative impact of people body image. With false advertisement women feels pressure to have the perfect body either by plastic surgery or unhealthy diet plans. This article is useful to use because it shows what the media uses to bring people self esteem down and how people would look at their body image differently

We regard ourself as some virtual characters on social media, we post photos of ourself, the food we eat or maybe just some random photos we take, all of these photos become a part of ourselves. However, people always want to show the good side of themselves, so photography and internet become a perfect tool to ‘ get rid of ’ all the bad defects. In other words, everyone is building a new “ self ” through the internet. One perfect example would be the software Photoshop, photoshop was “originally innovated to show grayscale images on a monochrome display, and later on, developed into a full-fledged editing program”(wiki-photoshop), but it is now more considered as a tool for “skin whitening” or “ face lifting”.No wonder Photoshop is named to be an “unnatural” tool, it is hard to distinguish the truth behind a photo, in which can cause people to recognize themselves in a wrong way. From the article to what extent does photoshop affect society written by Nikol, it says, “Daily, we are bombarded by the appearance of “flawless” celebrities in television, advertisements, and commercials. This wrong perception of a perfect body has led to the creation of numerous campaigns that are fighting the use of Photoshop.’ It gradually becomes a habit and people get addicted to doing it.

Beauty is America’s outlet of perfection for the average ego, an industry solely based on the prevailing taste of the age, packaging “beauty” as a product for its admirers. This magical bottle can be found on just about any shelf, from daily nutritious food items down the aisle, to the magazines that catch the eye on the way to check out. Digital photo editing has a lot to do with the reason why our society thinks this way. It has its upsides to it like increased product evaluation and therapeutic values, but it also has shown byproducts (that have either directly or indirectly led to things) such as false adverting, lower self-esteem, anorexia and even obesity.

Mass media falsely claims to be an advocate for self-acceptance and the idea that every woman is naturally beautiful, while it simultaneously uses Photoshop to erase all trace of that natural beauty—imagine how much they would Photoshop women if they did not extol real, non-enhanced, beauty! The women in these digitally improved photos look, quite frankly, as real as Barbie and her friends, and few women actually believe that the women in the pictures look that flawless in person. However, these pictures have the power to make any woman, including those in the pictures, feel inadequate because she is not as “attractive” as a Photoshopped image, the power to make a woman detest herself

The fashion industry plays a huge role in portraying bad images of ideal beauty, which in turn affects today’s society perception of their own body image. Not only are women affected by what is seen and heard about how the perfect body should appear, children of young ages are now feeling insecure and obsessed with their bodies before they reach teenage years. This ‘ideal image’ the fashion industry continues to enforce only focuses on very thin models who seem to be in shape and are very healthy. Furthermore, many people think of the influence from the fashion industry as being human representations (models). Because of the rising problem with the image of beauty within the fashion industry, it is shown that even mannequins and non-human representations (mannequins, dolls, photoshopping) of bodies play a significant role in women’s body image; which causes problems to the individual. (Anshutz & Engels, 2010). Body image and self-satisfaction, eating disorders and non-human representations all can cause harm to the individual, if prolonged.

Another way that photo shop portrayed in the media is negatively affecting society is the increase in use of plastic surgery among teens and young adults. Supporters of cosmetic surgery for teens say: A teenager's emotional maturity should not be measured by age, as each individual is different. Rather, a cosmetic surgeon should carefully interview a teenager, and, when practicable, a teen's parents, to assess the maturity and emotional stability of the child. Cosmetic surgery is a viable means of helping teenagers with cosmetic flaws improve their self-esteem (“Teenagers and Cosmetic Surgery”). Although plastic surgery can improve a teenager’s self-esteem, the surgery wouldn’t be needed in the first place if it

When presented with the question of “who is to blame for today’s beauty standards?” the simple yet obvious answer comes to mind, the media. What an abundant amount of people for reasons unknown to me, fail to realize, though, is that the media is not an all-powerful being that has a mind of its own. The media is ran by humans and watched by humans. Both having an equal share in what is publicized, one cannot survive without the other. Numerous individuals have argued that if we were all too just boycott anyone who uses photoshopped images of anyone for marketing strategies that they would just cease to exist anymore.

People who view digitally enhanced images are more likely to become insecure about themselves and go into despair. The false images can affect the way viewers see beauty in an unrealistic way, impacting self esteem and their own body image. Teenage girls are reportedly “more afraid of gaining weight than getting cancer, losing their parents, or nuclear war”( "Why Photoshop”). When viewers see photo shopped images they become unconfident about themselves and over time it begins

In today’s society, physical traits have a significant impact on people’s self-esteem. Social media is always flaunting the must-have products, the features that would make anyone attractive, the items that are “in” to be happy and to have a good life. Women and men face too many outside sources telling them what they should look like and what characteristics they should have to be pretty or liked. All false advertisement and unrealistic propagandas should be stopped or disclaimed because the more media pushes on people, the more mentally or physically damaging it could be. Photoshop leads to unrealistic goals. Advertisements constantly show people what they should want and reaches out to insecurities. In the end,

While the vast majority of images of females are being digitally enhanced, so is our appreciation for normal, healthy, beautiful, and attainable. Photoshop has gone over the top with how they make pictures look, so much that it’s negatively affecting vulnerable children, and teens with low self-esteem issues. One important justification for why people go through serious issues with their bodies like self-esteem, and eating disorders is because of the media. The media plays a huge role in our everyday life, and when a person sees an image they are automatically influenced by what that image portrays.

For instance, Amanda Fortini of The Cut describes a new way to think of how we should look at photoshopping advertisements and social media posts: “Looking at them, one can’t help wonder why we resist accepting, or even celebrating, a retouched photo for what it is: an open fiction, a candid fantasy. If we could ditch the idea that these images bear any resemblance to reality viewers might not feel conned of played for fools” (Fortini). Fortini believes that we should start viewing photoshopped pictures as the works of art that they are and not as an ideal to strive for. By being able to sperate the two trains of thought, thinking of altered photos as works of art and thinking of them as the ideal way to look, it would make social media a safer place to explore while also taking the pressure off women to look how advertising and media want them to look. However, that mindset is not as easy to achieve as it seems as advertising celebrates perfectionism causing an enormous pressure on girls to conform. For instance, author Samantha Yee Yee Foo conducted a study for her college thesis at the Auckland University of Technology where she concluded

Many photographers and artists argue that they have such amazing new technologies to enhance their work such as new digital cameras and powerful tools such as Photoshop therefore they are compelled to use them. The AMA consists of joining physicians that promote professional, public health issues and raise public awareness about the impact of image manipulation on childhood development (Diller). People often claim to ignore advertisements but these messages are reaching people on a subconscious level. At the center of numerous ads is an image of idealized female beauty. Models are perceived as tall, slim, light skinned and digitally altered to even more unrealistic proportions. Many young girls compare themselves to these images all the time and failure to live up to these expectations is inevitable because they are based on a sense of flawlessness that does not actually exist. Perhaps,

Whether it is social media, music videos, television, movies or magazines, a stream of social pressures is ever-present. It has become such common practice that regardless of what gets put up in the air, is taken as truth, and taken very seriously by many. Models, actors, the rich and the famous have all been in a race to let more of the world’s population know that they are the closest a human has ever been to perfection in terms of appearance. Through the use of photographers that know the greatest angles and provide the best possible lighting, photo shoots hide flaws. In addition to image editing software and even airbrushing, every wrinkle and imperfection are covered up and out of sight. The issue that has been growing alongside this trend is ultimately self-esteem issues, which has been inflicted on the masses of society. Unrealistic goals are shown as easy to obtain, persuading young people all over the globe to try to reach them, imposing great health risks (Slater, Tiggemann, Firth & Hawkins, 2012). Since the perfect people are put out as norms within society, the majority of the society doesn’t feel normal. Opinions have changed and/or formed over time on physical appearances, such as weight, lack of features, muscle mass and even amount of pubic hair. The harsh requirements being

Mental disorders and hypersexualized images. Regarding other influences and impacts of photo manipulation on body images and beauty, Day (2014) states that the three most common mental disorders caused by photo manipulation are eating disorder, depression and low self-esteem. Furthermore, she lists out several statistics and surveys that prove its negativity on human beings: 80% of women feel worse about themselves after seeing a beauty ad and people as young as thirteen begin to feel unsatisfied about their body and how they look. As shocking as it is, a study included in Day’s (2014) article states that “adolescent girls are more afraid of gaining weight than getting cancer, losing their parents or nuclear war.” Photo manipulation also creates a hypersexualized issue: A study done in 2011 by the journal Sexuality and Culture shows that 2% of men and 61% of women are hypersexualized (Nelson, 2012, p.180). Retouched photos are continuously used as sex sales and convey the wrong definition of “sexy” that is almost unreachable (Nelson, 2012, p.218).

Every single day when I wake up in the morning, one of the first things I do is look at myself in the mirror. Am I skinny enough? Is my skin clear enough? Do I look like the girl from the magazine I was reading yesterday? No. I don’t. But I’ll keep asking these questions each and everyday because that is what the media tells me I need to look like. Because if my waist isn’t small enough I’m not pretty. Because if I have cellulite on my legs there’s something wrong with me. Because if I don’t slot into this unattainable standard. I'm not beautiful. Airbrushing and photoshopping models in pictures to display through media is something that frankly speaking is appalling. We are alienating beautiful human beings because of the media’s dictations on what we should look like. I am sick of being brainwashed to the point where all I can ever seem to do is single out the ‘flaws’ in myself. If we display, real, beautiful, raw pictures of people in media then so many problems caused by this would no longer exist.