Most of us tell ourselves that we use social media for fun, to keep up with our friends or to stay up to date with current events. But have you ever taken the time to really consider how you feel after scrolling through Instagram? It can be hard to suppress that pang of jealousy that creeps up when someone’s feed makes it seem like they’re permanently on vacation or that they’re in the happiest, healthiest, most exciting relationship in the world.
It’s no secret that social media is wreaking havoc on many people’s mental health and body image. Healthline warns that some of the most insidious aspects of these online platforms (that so many of us are obsessed with) are the unrealistic beauty standards that they promote.
Editing apps and filters have made it shockingly easy for users to manipulate their appearances however they like before posting publicly online. Aren't a fan of your nose? Facetune can fix that for you. Wish you had a smaller waist? Not a problem! Even videos can be edited to make users appear thinner, curvier or taller nowadays.
While it might seem harmless to remove a pimple from a photo or whiten your teeth a little bit, it’s a very slippery slope, especially when we choose to share these photos online. See, most of these images don’t come with any disclaimers about what’s been done to them, so followers take them at face value. And it can be extremely confusing, especially for young, impressionable audiences, when they see women with impossibly small waists posing on beaches in bikinis.
Healthline warns that these manipulated images can also encourage viewers to partake in dangerous habits. We all know that thin bodies are seen as the ideal, particularly on social media, which can make viewers feel an increased amount of pressure to change their own bodies to try to match what they see online. These apps are flooded with workout routines, body checking videos and “What I Eat in a Day” content that makes viewers question their own lifestyles and habits. But what happens when they're trying to achieve the look of an influencer who doesn't even look like their own photos?
One 2022 study found that popular content on TikTok often promotes disordered eating habits and preys on the insecurities that viewers have about their own bodies. Meanwhile, a 2023 study reported that social media use is a “plausible risk factor for the development of eating disorders.” Many people had absolutely no reason to believe that there was anything wrong with their bodies until they hopped onto social media and were suddenly exposed to creators in extremely thin bodies (including some of whom only appear that way due to editing) and viral trends that fixate on random parts of the body.
While it’s perfectly normal to be insecure about certain aspects of your appearance, it can become extremely unhealthy when we start fixating on them and become obsessed with comparing ourselves to others. After all, we were never meant to see what millions of other people look like; we only have the ability to do so now thanks to the internet. And apparently, that’s not a great thing!
When it comes to the damage that beauty filters specifically are doing to us, Tara Well, PhD, wrote a piece for Psychology Today discussing how harmful these seemingly innocent features can be. According to a report from City University of London, 90% of young women admit to using filters and editing on their social media photos. Meanwhile, a whopping 94% of participants say they use these filters because they feel pressure to look a certain way.
