Selfies have become a new social culture. This phenomenon starts after the development of smartphones which each new smartphone comes with an advance built-in camera.
Most selfies then will be shared on social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. This might add up to the reason why people taking lots of selfies in a day. And most of us would be satisfied with the result of our selfie only after several attempts on editing the selfie photos.
A recent study has proven that editing photos can bring a negative impact on one’s perception of their own body image.
The study was conducted from the Psychology department at Flinders University. They took 130 participants aged between 18 to 30. All the participants need to view a model-like picture first on Instagram before examining their editing tendency. The study was published in the journal, Body Image.
From the study, it shows that the participants’ mood gradually worsened after looking at their own facial appearance. Women would invest a lot of time and effort in getting the best shot which further can be enhanced through filters or editing, Professor Marika Tiggeman said.
A big concern with this addiction to filters and editing of photos is the negative effects they could have on mental health, especially of the younger generation. The most popular Snapchat filters literally distort your face. They make it slimmer, give you higher cheekbones, even out your skin tone, and even change your skin colour. Results that no amount of healthy eating, or working out could achieve. There is a study being conducted to screen for depression and mental illness by analyzing use of Instagram filters, indicating that how we manipulate our photos says a lot about our state of mental health. Is it any wonder why when these pictures we think we look better in are unrealistic.
Professor Marika, who conducted the study stated that there are underlying harmful and damaging effects towards the women where they want to present the best version of them. This can also lead to insincerity online.
There are factors involved in the dissatisfaction of body image. It results from constant judging on women’s appearance and the efforts to make them look better than in real life.
Source: Science Direct