Before you read this article, I encourage you to open the social media app that you use the most. Scroll for a moment and take note of what you see. What type of posts do you end up liking? What posts seem to be the most popular?
It seems like posts showing off something typically do the best online, whether that be someone’s looks, someone’s car, or someone’s travels.
Before you like something on social media, do you ever ask yourself how real a post is?
Over the past year I have become more and more aware of the “illusion” that seems to have overtaken social media, especially in the present day as social media has become an ego booster for most users.
So many people now edit their photos, which was once unheard of when it came to posting on your page. Apps like Facetune and Lightroom have become ragingly popular. These types of apps allow you to adjust your photo in the ways that you desire.
I personally believe someone should be able to do whatever they want with their photos. However, to me it becomes a problem when this person is basing their actions solely on the unrealistic standards of social media, and when it is also to appease others and fit in. Editing your photos should be something you want to do for your own self and something that makes you the most happy.
It becomes difficult when celebrities and influencers promote lifestyles and beauty standards that are most of the time unattainable and not actually real.
If you have been reading tabloids this past week, you may have seen the “scandal” of Khloe Kardashian’s unedited and unfiltered photo that went viral. In the photo she is wearing a leopard bathing suit and showing off her, quite honestly, great body!
It seems like Khloe and her team felt otherwise though. Khloe’s team immediately began trying to get this photo off of the Internet. Most accounts that had posted this photo allegedly got their pages suspended or frozen.
Khloe then went onto the Internet to release a statement saying “This is me and my body unretouched and unfiltered… when someone takes a photo of you that isn’t flattering in bad lighting or doesn’t capture your body the way it is after working so hard to get to this point—and then shares it to the world—you should have every right to ask for it to not be shared—regardless of who you are” (1).
I completely understand where Khloe is coming from, however it becomes a tricky subject when such impressionable minds are being exposed to her and her families’ content every single day.
Fans began to wonder if their bodies were good enough if Khloe was scrambling to get rid of a type of photo most of them could actually relate to!
People also criticized how the Kardashians and Jenners have created such new and intense beauty standards that they themselves can’t even keep up with or achieve, without the help of editing, good lightning, makeup, etc.
Of course, the Kardashians are not the only culprits here. Social media influencers and models have grown in their popularity. Most of the time, they are portraying a fantasy.
Social media has contorted and skewed our beauty standards and it is having a bigger impact on a lot of people’s self esteem and mental health than you may want to believe.
It is important to keep in mind when exploring social media and using it for your own leisure that your page and posts should be content that you personally love and enjoy. If editing your photos makes you the most happy, then do that! Don’t edit your photos to match these celebs and influencers.
In reality, social media can be a great place when you have the right mindset.
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https://www.preview.ph/culture/khloe-kardashian-unedited-photo-leaked-internet-reactions-a00318-20210415