TikToker RIKKI shared photos of herself before and after editing them to remind people that social media is fake, and other users are following her example
In the before-mentioned Vox piece, Rebecca Jennings also highlighted that "while many major celebrities have been 'caught' editing their Instagram photos, from Beyoncé to Lady Gaga to Victoria’s Secret models, others on the receiving end of a different kind of ridicule are figures who we’d probably like to think of as above such activities: people like Callista Gingrich, US ambassador to the Holy See, who has a habit of posting photos of herself and her husband Newt with faces as smooth as Renaissance-painting babies."
But the most fascinating examples, according to Jennings, are the stars of the messiest, most theatrical television shows in the world like Vanderpump Rules and The Bachelor.
"It isn't their [popularity] that makes their excessive Facetune habits surprising — reality stars are among the most traditionally shameless when it comes to activities like posting sponsored content for teeth whitening products and arguing with each other in the comments section."
No, it's the fact that these are the same people willing to reveal the worst moments of their lives on national television, many of whom have been naked, drunk, and/or arrested in full view of cameras. "Unlike influencers who built their followings online with heavily curated images, reality stars have no control over how they’re portrayed on TV," Jennings explained. "They sign away all of those rights before filming, and have no idea whether they’ll get the 'villain edit' or the “goofy edit,' reality-fan slang for the producers’ influence on the stars’ reputations."
"Yet a scroll through many reality stars’ Instagram pages will reveal many perfectly posed and heavily Facetuned images, as if the melodrama of their televised lives were but a distant memory. Reality stars are, whether they know it or not, the prime examples of what's becoming an increasingly prominent conversation among those with a social media account, which is to say, most people: the chasm between one's online persona and their actual life."
You might ask why do we care. And that's a legit question. But these things can take a toll on you even if you're just an outsider, observing the whole charade.
In 2019, Marika Tiggemann and Isabella Anderberg released a study called "Social media is not real: The effect of 'Instagram vs reality' images on women’s social comparison and body image." The research revealed that such images have the power to limit the impact social media posts have on our mental health.
As part of the study, a group of women were randomly assigned to view one of three sets of images: "Instagram vs reality" images, the 'ideal' side alone, or just the 'real' side. When women viewed either the real or comparison posts, researchers noticed that the identification or complete avoidance of the 'perfect' images could prevent them from comparing themselves against impossible beauty standards, reducing the negative impact on body image and actually decreasing body dissatisfaction.
So I guess these TikToks might be doing the whole internet more good than you, me, or even the people creating them realize.
