It seems you can’t open any form of social media without being bombarded by heavily photoshopped snaps of celebrities or influencers.
But a new study shows that it’s not just about celebrities updating their photos. A third of 18 to 25 year olds now say they will edit their photos before posting them.
The survey, conducted by researchers at ID Crypt Global, found that the majority of young people felt pressured to edit their images to look like celebrities or influencers.
And despite growing concerns about its effect on young people’s body image, Instagram still emerged as the most popular place for faked images.
Of those who said they edit their photos, 83 percent said they would likely customize their appearance for Instagram over any other platform.
Research has shown that a third of young people aged 18 to 25 edit their images before uploading them to social media such as Instagram. This photo shows one of the many photo editing tutorials available online
The survey of 778 young people found that the most common use of photo editing software was to adjust the lighting or tone of the image.
Just under half of respondents say they adjust images in this way, while 30 percent say they use a filter in the app.
A smaller group took more steps to adjust their images; 18 percent said they would use an app on their phone to make adjustments before uploading.
But despite the growing availability of AI editing tools, including one in Adobe Photoshop, only one percent said they would edit their photos with AI.
The research found that the most common reason for young people to edit their photos was to change some aspect of their physical appearance.
Of those surveyed who said they edited their photos, 42 percent said they did so to change their appearance. Just under half of those who edit their photos do so by adjusting the lighting and tone of the image
Celebrities such as Kris Jenner (left) and Khloe Kardashian (right) have been criticized for their extensive use of photo editing on social media, which creates false standards for young people
Of those who have edited their photos for social media, 42 percent say they do so to change their hair color, skin color, weight or some other physical characteristic.
Then something or someone was removed from the image, which 20 percent said they would do.
Another 16 percent said they’ve edited their photos for fun with crazy filters, while 15 percent said they’ve made edits to maintain a certain theme or style across all their posts.
But while their goals varied somewhat, the researchers found that many of those who edited their photos had a common motivation.
Of respondents, 58 percent said they felt societal pressure to manipulate their images to present themselves in a certain way, such as feeling the need to resemble celebrities or influencers.
Numerous celebrities have been criticized for setting unrealistic or unhealthy beauty standards on social media, especially when it comes to issues like weight.
Celebrities like Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner and Chloe Ferry have all been criticized for editing their photos online.
Other celebrities were shocked to discover that their own photos had been edited against their wishes to make them appear slimmer or to remove natural flaws.
And especially on Instagram, the use of filters and photo editing is widespread among influencers.
While only 7 percent of respondents on Tik-Tok said they would edit photos to post on the platform, there are countless videos explaining how to edit photos for Instagram.
There are currently 6,671 videos posted under the tag ‘#intaworthy’, many of which have hundreds of thousands of views.
However, research has shown that both exposure to edited images and the posting of edited images can lead to mental health problems in young people.
Studies have shown that exposure to edited images on social media can cause young people to hate their bodies and feel ashamed of how they look.
On TikTok, the tag ‘#instaworthy’ has been used on more than 6,600 videos, showing young people how to edit their images before posting them online
One study published last year found that one in five children between the ages of 12 and 21 experienced body image issues, such as eating problems or vomiting.
Other research suggests that photo editing encourages people to view their bodies in ways that increase the risks of body shamedepression and eating disorders.
A document from 2018 found that users who posted edited photos reported feeling less attractive, experiencing lower self-esteem and lower mood.
While most survey respondents and tutorials on TikTok are making minor changes to the exposure and saturation of images, some are concerned that this could lead to bigger problems.
Ms Lauren Wilson-Smith, CEO of ID Crypt Globa, which funded the research, said: ‘While making edits to social media snaps may seem harmless enough, there are some underlying motivations that deserve our concern.
“The new phenomenon of social media fame creates unattainable expectations about what children should look like and the kind of lifestyle they should lead. And that takes young people out of reality.’