For many years Photoshop has been used to
"re-touch" images portrayed in the media however recently people have
begun to notice just how ridiculous this practice has become. Models and
celebrities are now being altered almost beyond recognition in order to promote
an unattainable idea of beauty. Just looking at a few examples of this one must
ask themselves "How many more waistlines will be slimmed or wrinkles
removed before someone bans this unhealthy practice?".
Studies over the years have shown that there is a direct
relationship between the self esteem of young girls and the advertising they're
exposed to. These girls are constantly having pictures of these supposedly
perfect women shoved in their face and told that this is what they need to
strive for. This idea of perfection can lead to very serious eating disorders
such as anorexia. Don't believe it's that serious? Let's take a look at the
facts:
- 95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25
- 91% of women surveyed on a college campus had tried controlling their weight through dieting
- Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents
- In a survey of 185 female students on a college campus, 58% felt pressure to be a certain weight, and of the 83% that dieted for weight loss, 44% were of normal weight.
All the facts are there yet many magazine and clothing
companies still try and defend their use of Photoshop by calling it harmless.
If allowed to continue, this practice could have devastating effects. Already
over just a couple of years our perception and idea of beauty has become so
warped by the media yet for some reason we still allow this to continue. It's
time for the law makers to put a stop to this before the damage becomes irreversible.
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