A Study Has Revealed That One Third Women Won’t Upload Pictures Without Using Filters First. It’s Sad That It’s True!

A Study Has Revealed That One Third Women Won’t Upload Pictures Without Using Filters First. It’s Sad That It’s True!

It started with a simple, accidental swipe on Snapchat that applied a flattering filter on my face, instantly giving it the glow that my picture otherwise lacked. “Wow, that was easy”, I thought, as I explored more of them, and before I knew it, I was sucked into the art of editing my pictures. Be it as simple as adding a colorful tint to the background, or as complex as adding a pair of eyelashes and grey lenses, every picture that was clicked from that point on had to undergo a rigorous process of filtering, cleaning up and editing. But I thought I had it in control, because I still looked like myself, right?

At first, it was the thrill of knowing how I’d look if I had longer hair, or a more structured face, or if I just put a little more blush on my face, but soon, it turned into an addiction I couldn’t shake off. Now my natural selfies didn’t feel all that good without those fake lashes and sparkle. In fact, what was more worrisome was the fact that my profile, that was full of my selfies, was no testament to how I actually looked, but more about how I wanted to look. And I am not the only one pursuing this goal of perfection.

According to a study, one third of the girls out there, will not post their selfies online without using a face app or a filter on their pictures. And sadly, we all can relate. Guilty of indulging in the superficiality, we have all been there. Girlguiding’s annual Girls’ Attitudes survey found that the prime reason women did this was to “find acceptance”. Thanks to the unrealistic beauty standards, that have us judging our worth based on how plump our lips or contoured our cheeks are.

Also Read : These Beauty Bloggers Got Real About Their Skin Struggles On IG. We Are Here For All The Skin Positivity

It was found that 34% of 11 to 21-year-olds would not post a photo of themselves online without using a filter or app to enhance it first, with older girls more likely to say this. In fact, 33% girls also admitted to have deleted the pictures they previously uploaded, if it didn’t gather them enough attention. Yikes.

The charity that conducted the survey, interviewed 2,186 girls and young women aged between seven and 21 across the UK and it suggested that with the lockdown in place, as women spent more time online, they were bombarded with the exposure to such unrealistic and impossible beauty standards online, they felt more and more pressured to adhere to unachievable standards of beauty.

It also stated that, four in 10 (39%) of the 1,473 respondents admitted they feel upset that they cannot look the same in real life as they do online, with 44% saying that the fear of others dismissing their body, stops them from agreeing to have their picture taken. In fact, one respondent even mentioned, “I find it hard to go through Insta(gram) because everyone looks perfect and it lowers my self-confidence.” And that right there is the problem we need to nip in the bud.

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Just in order to make themselves more agreeable to the crowd, that itself is probably struggling with the same dilemma, we resort to filters and photo editing apps and in the process, lose sight of just how perfect we are with our imperfections. We have let social media and such beauty goals, knock down our self-esteem and worth so much, that we feel there is no other way to look beautiful than the ones being spammed on your feeds.

Girlguiding advocate Phoebe Kent argued, “I know so many people that have just ended up coming off social media because they can’t deal with the detrimental impact on their confidence and wellbeing. It’s definitely impacting on mental health for so many girls and young women.” She also said, “It’s just such a shame that girls have to resort to coming off social media, and doing things like trying to change the way they look just to make themselves feel more confident, when in reality most of the things they see aren’t realistic at all.”

Perhaps it is time for us to make peace with who we are, because ultimately, as long as we are comfortable with the way we look, the world will follow into our footsteps, provided you don’t start second guessing yourself!

Also Read : Sameera Reddy Says She Didn’t Feel Good Enough Because Of Bollywood’s Unrealistic Beauty Standards. She’s Constantly Dismantling Stupid Notions Of Beauty

Sadhika Sehgal

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