Reflecting On Edited Images
Tristan Griffiths
Removing overwhelm from social media, content creation, livestreaming & social audio!
Reflecting On Edited Images
As we carry on into the new year, I want to encourage you to reflect on something. It’s not something that is NEW news, but it is something that is increasingly more and more important every year!
As numerous studies and reports have shown, comparing ourselves to others, and even editing images for online can have a detrimental effect on our own mental health.?
Even a quick Google search delivers the top result as as a Stark warning about this…
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SEARCH :?‘editing photos affects your mental health’
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RESULT :?Retouched images can lead to anxiety and mood changes
A study in 2018 revealed that women reported higher anxiety, lower mood and less confidence in a situation where they had to upload an unedited “selfie”. This shows a clear change in psychological state as a direct result of the inability to retouch a photo.
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SOURCE :
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So before you spend too much time creating that perfect image, I encourage you to think about the effect it may have, not only on yourself, but others who view it online, who may be less adept at preventing themselves from continually comparing themselves to others.
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“Unreasonable or impossible standards of beauty created by photo retouching can result in individual feelings of being flawed, not measuring up, or not being good enough,” Dr. Rachel O’Neill, a licensed professional clinical counselor and primary therapist on Talkspace, tells SheKnows. “Over time, it’s possible for an individual to internalize these feelings, which may result in low self-esteem, reduced self-confidence, and feelings of sadness and?Depression.”
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Did you know that 1 in 4 girls & 1 in 10 boys edits photos of themselves to change their face or body shape because of concerns about their body image??
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SOURCE :?Source: Mental Health Foundation
This is far from a small issue, and if you start to scratch the surface you will see just how grave a problem this is…
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The Mental Health Foundation, University of Birmingham and the Cochrane Common Mental Disorders Group – alongside a group of another 12 organisation representatives and experts by experience – are calling for the introduction of guidelines to protect children from image-editing technology.
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Don’t get me wrong, we all love to look good in a photo, but this epidemic has far more serious consequences than just affecting people’s moods… So please think about the?POWER & BEAUTY?of the?UNEDITED PHOTO!?
As a professional photographer who makes a living from creating the perfect photos, this comes as a tough article to write, but it’s far too important NOT to address!!
When looking at and considering social media, it is important to remember that it is simply a showreel of the highlights people choose to share with you!!
Nowadays most social media platforms and tools have inbuilt filters and enhancements. This may seem on the surface to be good news, but how good is it for anything but the look of the image itself??
What impact can filters and editing tools have?
Remember:?Often people will only share certain aspects of their lives which can lead followers to believe that they live a perfect life. Many influencers are paid to create aspiring content as a way to encourage people to buy products and make money.
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In an era where the word authenticity has been done to death, but when that is exactly what people are also craving so badly, why not create content that shows a much more real side of your world??
There is nothing wrong with having things in the background of your photos, or even having messy hair, in fact these very things may even make you MORE relatable to your audience??
Sure people want to aspire to higher standards;?
But at what cost??
And do you want to be part of the problem?
Or part of the solution??
There is a time and a place for an edited photo, however the stress and mental strain associated with editing every photo and obsessing over the perfect imagery simply isn’t worth it in the long run…
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Please, I implore you;?
Help us share this important message!
People will thank you!
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On a final note – I want to call on you to be honest and answer a few quick questions;?
Thank you in advance for your honesty…?
Tristan Griffiths?AKA?#ImTristanG
Corporate and Personal Caterer, Bespoke Gift Boxes, Biscuits incl 3d design service
2 年This is such an interesting read, the psychological problems that editing images can cause. It is not a true reflection of that person. I personally am a take it or leave it type of person, if people don’t like how I look, they can move on. But sadly there is such media pressure on how we look and particularly in the younger generation, we are all worth so much more than this, we should be proud of who we are, our inner true selves!
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2 年Thank you for the tag, Tristan. I think we're all aware how 'fake' images on social media can have a negative affect on the mental health of those viewing them. There are so many ways this can be done without re-touching but I agree re-touching is a culprit. Have you any thoughts as to how we can exercise control over these images?