Teens’ self-edited photos show unreal beauty standards they face

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your Published Feb. 6, 2019 Updated Feb. 6, 2019, 4:15 ET View this post on Instagram

Social media is

A series of before-and-after portraits edited by teens shows the unreal standards filters and Instagram culture have instilled in these young digital natives. British fashion photographer Rankin took photos of 15 teens and then allowed them to take five minutes to edit the images so they were “social media

The contrast between the original and the teen-edited photos is stark, displaying the ease and capacity thousands of free mobile apps give young users to tweak their own faces to perceived perfection. The after images all sport uncannily smooth skin, larger and more gem-like eyes and narrower

The series, titled “Selfie Harm,” is part of a larger Visual Diet project aiming to bring attention to the “hyper-retouched, sexually gratuitous” images that many are “force-fed every

“Every platform is full of hyper-retouched and highly addictive imagery, and it’s messing people up,” says Rankin, who feels that photography has been “hijacked” by those abusing its power through digital

“Selfie Harm” shows the mental impact of Snapchat and other platforms’ easy-to-use photo tools on young people’s minds, and the stats support it too. In an April 2018 survey, only 31 percent of teenagers reported that they found social media to have a “mostly positive effect” while 45 percent were neutral. Another 24 percent said the platforms were “mostly negative” because of, in part, their ability to cause mental health issues and give unrealistic views of others’

Despite seemingly overwhelming evidence that social media is warping people’s minds to be more insecure, though, teens would rather have it than lose it, if only for the human connection it offers. Additional 2018 research found that, while 43 percent of teens felt pressure to only post content which would make them look good to others, 81 percent reported social media made them feel more connected to their

If only selfless friendship could come without the