It can be difficult not to compare our everyday lives to the idealized images we see on social media every day. Although many of us experimented with simple filters on Snapchat and Instagram in the past, we still forget that even minor edits can change reality significantly. Nowadays, it only takes a few seconds and a free app to remove belly fat, clear up acne, reshape a waist, or completely change a background. To highlight the lengths people will go to with their editing skills, Bored Panda collected amusing editing mistakes where the photos bear no resemblance to reality. Viewers should prepare to be shocked and amused, but keep in mind that no one online truly looks like a porcelain doll in real life.
A large portion of the edits seen online comes from mobile applications. Tools like Perfect365, FaceApp, and Photable allow anyone to reshape their appearance in moments. Users can smooth out wrinkles, cinch their waist, brighten their eyes, and eliminate blemishes with just a few taps. Some apps even offer features for adding six-pack abs or performing virtual nose jobs and slimmer jawlines. However, these quick alterations often leave behind clues—such as oddly smooth skin or distorted backgrounds where someone went too far in pinching their waist.
Even without extensive digital editing, simple camera tricks can dramatically change how a person appears. Influencer Sara Puhto often demonstrates how posture, lighting, and angles create significant optical illusions. By flexing, sucking in their stomach, and using dramatic studio lighting, people can achieve a sculpted look that only lasts for a photo. In discussing common social media poses, Puhto noted that when someone tenses their stomach, stands straight, and accentuates their hips, they appear different in pictures. She emphasized that this is not how people actually pose in real life and that it does not accurately reflect someone’s appearance. Puhto has been sharing these honest comparisons since 2016, amassing a following of over 580,000 by promoting authenticity.
Puhto is not alone in dispelling the myth of social media perfection. Other creators are also addressing these online misconceptions. London-based Emily Clarkson has built a large community of over 689,000 followers by sharing fitness and body-positive content that exposes digital manipulations. Her posts illustrate how filters, lighting, and posed photos can distort reality. What started as a lighthearted response to perfect images of models and celebrities has become a meaningful mission for Clarkson. She explained that initially, it was a playful reaction to picture-perfect images, but over time, it has evolved into a way to help women avoid falling into comparison traps. Clarkson aims to show women that much of what they see online is not real.
These Photoshop blunders can be funny, but the pressure behind them has a serious side. What do you think about the impact of social media editing?
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Source: Bored Panda, by Justinas Keturka