Mind-bending and Filtered Faces: 85% of girls have edited their body in photos by age 13
There’s no denying that mind-bending social media filters and image editing apps can have a lasting, harmful impact on self-esteem — especially when deployed to radically edit a body to comply with unrealistic beauty standards. Standards that cannot be achieved in real life.
But the surge in usage of apps like Instagram and FaceTune have made it feasible to change the way we look in the click of a button. To the extent that it’s becoming harder to judge what’s real and what’s not. Snapchat dysmorphia, for instance, is a medical phenomenon whereby social media filters have led to a rising number of women going to plastic surgeons asking to look like the filtered versions of themselves. Whilst the British photographer Rankin famously explored the harmful affects of these retouching apps in the photo series, “Selfie Harm.” For the project, Rankin photographed a group of teenagers and then asked them to edit their own portrait until it was “social media ready.” He found that the participants all seemed to magnify their eyes and over-plump their lips — reflecting current “aspirational” beauty archetypes. What’s interesting is that the individuals didn’t necessarily like or prefer the edited versions of themselves, but simply felt the retouched image would garner more likes on their social media platforms.
According to a new Dove Self-Esteem Project, research has revealed that a shocking 85% of girls have applied filters or used an app to change the way they look in their photos by the time they are 13; whilst 67% of girls try to change, or hide, at least one body part before posting a photo of themselves to social media.
The degree of pressure girls feel to look a certain way in online images was linked to body self-esteem: the longer girls spend editing their photos, the more they report low body esteem. 64% of girls who spend 10-30 mins editing have low body esteem. While girls who distort their photos are more likely to have low body-esteem (57%) compared to those that don’t distort their photos at all (24%).
“Although certain aspects of social media can promote connection and well-being, in recent years dozens of scientific studies have shown that social media can negatively influence body confidence, mood, and self-esteem” warns Professor Phillippa Diedrichs, Research Psychologist at the Centre of Appearance Research at the University of West England and body image expert. “This happens when users spend significant amounts of time posting selfies, using editing apps and filters to alter their appearance, comparing themselves to others, and seeking validation through comments and likes. It’s therefore imperative that we help young people to develop skills to navigate social media in a healthy and productive way.”
But the new research also showed the potential that social media can have if images were more authentic and representative of the way we look in everyday life. If this was the case, it would boost levels of confidence and self-assurance amongst young women: 66% of girls say they would not end up feeling judged on the way they look, 68% of girls would be less worried about the way they look, 56% of girls wish the world would focus more on who they are instead of what they looked like. It’s clear that urgent action, through policy and education, is needed to change the way we post and consume images online.
A short film by the Dove Self-Esteem Project, undoes the emotional and physical stages of posting a selfie; highlighting how editing tools once only available to the professionals can now be accessed by young people without regulation. Rather than models on set, it’s girls in their bedrooms filtering away their identities. After a year of increased screen-time, there has never been a more crucial time to act. Watch here: https://we.tl/t-8N1P82we5F