ESSEX, UK / AGILITYPR.NEWS / June 17, 2024 / New research from digital identity security specialists, ID Crypt Global, reveals that one-third of 18-25-year-olds doctor their own photographs before posting them on social media, with the majority of them doing so because they feel pressure to look like their favourite celebrities and influencers.
ID Crypt Global has commissioned a survey of 778 18-25-year-olds to ask if and why they edit photographs of themselves before posting them to social media.
The survey reveals that 33% of 18-25-year-olds admit to digitally doctoring their photographs before posting them on social media.
The social media platform they’re most likely to post doctored images on is by far and away Instagram, as reported by 83% of respondents, with the next-most popular answer of Tik-Tok applying to just 7% of respondents.
The most common editing methods used for social media posts are adjusting the lighting and tone of images (49%), and using filters (30%).
The most common reason for editing images is for people to edit their own appearance (42%), whether that's changing their hair colour, skin tone, eye colour, or weight.
When asked if they feel pressure to doctor their images in order to present themselves in a certain way, such as to look like celebrities and influencers, 58% of 18-25-year-olds say ‘yes’.
CEO and Founder of ID Crypt Global, Lauren Wilson-Smith, commented:
“It seems that faking images is becoming ingrained in our young people from a really early age. And while making edits to social media snaps might seem innocent enough, there are some underlying motivations that deserve our concern, from ideas of self-worth, to children wishing to be something they are not.
The new phenomenon of social media fame is setting unattainable expectations for how kids should look and the kinds of lifestyles they should lead. And in doing so, it’s removing young people from reality.
This willingness to edit photographs may also be contributing to the worrying bigger picture of deepfakes and false images that are increasingly appearing online and in the media, and young people might become so used to themselves and their peers doctoring reality in photographs that they don’t see the dangers that misinformation can have in a broader context out in the wider world.”
Survey results
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