Using photoshop to improve the quality of a photograph or to change the appearance of a person blurs the line between reality and fiction. In reality, no one is perfect. But in the world of photoshop, everything is not as it seems. When a photo is edited, does it similar to the original? This provokes another question which is should a manipulated selfie be a concern in society?

Editing pictures can physically or mentally alter a person’s identity. It is common for people to edit a selfie to make their faces look thinner or to enhance their skin tones. Some people even enlarge their eyes. All of these alterations affect a person’s physical identity. Selfies are no longer only photos, but they are also a way for people to express themselves. People enjoy posting selfies on social media because it is how people choose to for the public to see them.

Conversely, when people repetitively depend on photoshop to maintain their nonexistent features, it becomes a hassle. All this may cause people to pursuit a life in a  fictional world and discourages those to be themselves.       

Changing the final outcome of your selfie may change who you are because photoshop fulfills your desires. The most mistakes that people make are to hide their imperfect side. Jerry Lodriguss stated, “the fundamental fact that we usually forget is that when we take a picture we do not make a perfectly objective recording of reality. What we make is an interpretation of reality.”

Photoshopping can also impact the society where people are already self-conscious of their appearances. People tend to care about the way they are perceived when it comes to their physical appearances. Whether the comments on their altered selfies are positive or negative, it changes how people view themselves.

– Yuzhen Liang