If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know what a selfie is and exactly what lighting you need to take your best one. But what you might not know is that those famous Instagram models use more than just good lighting when obtaining the unattainable selfie.
Many users, particularly young women, have taken extreme measures as they try obtaining the unattainable selfie on Instagram. Apps like Facetune allow users to edit, airbrush and refine their photos. If done with precision, no follower would ever notice that their favorite blogger whitened their teeth, softened their wrinkles, defined their cheekbones or made their arms, legs and stomach skinner.
So is there a problem with using photo editing when obtaining the unattainable? Yes.
While research on psychological effects from Instagram is still very new, there are numerous studies conducted on the psychological effects from Facebook. According to the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Facebook and feelings of depression go hand-in-hand due to a particular factor: social comparison (Forbes). Social media highlights the best, most beautiful parts of our friends. We consciously or subconsciously compare our untrimmed real lives to their edited, perfect digital life. Social comparison brings feelings of depression.
A study from the University of Houston found that upward social comparisons (comparing yourself to someone
Essena Oneill is an Australlian Instagrammer who surprised the world by editing all of her captions to describe what it actually took to achieve each look.
more attractive than yourself) make people feel worse. The reciprocal is also true. Downward social comparisons (comparing yourself to someone less attractive than yourself) tend to make people feel better about themselves (Forbes).
The selfie obsessed generation has consequently become a depressed, anxious and medicated generation. According to the Independent, depression rates of teens in the UK have increased by 70 percent in the last 25 years (Independent). The “social” platforms that connect us to family and friends also lead us to comparison that causes feelings of depression.
*note wig, costume, airbrushing and editing
So, how does this relate to selfies? When scrolling through Instagram, it is important to realize that what we are comparing ourselves to is unobtainable. Just because Beyonce says she woke up like this, does not mean she woke up like this. Don’t fall for the accounts that try to obtain the unobtainable selfie. It is harmful to you, your friends and an entire generation.
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