Real VS Fake

We’ve covered a lot of topics. From men to women, Facebook to Instagram a lot has been discussed. I personally find it so interesting, because in a world where social media has almost taken over, where you walk into a restaurant and see 50% of the customers are scrolling down their news feeds on their shiny smartphones, why wouldn’t you want to know more about what social media does to us? BUT how do we really know what is real and what is fake online? How can we decipher between artificial and authentic?

Everyday, millions of people all over the world post photos to their social media accounts, including the incredibly popular site Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and so on. But what we have to think about and consider, is how much of it is truly real. People can easily portray the most perfect version of themselves online, hiding behind computer or phone screens, editing endlessly and filtering the photos until they look really different to the original – but chances are they do look ten times better than the original. With effects like airbrushing and teeth whitening literally at people’s fingertips and with the ease of access to all these filtered techniques, it’s hard to resist.

Everyone wants to look their best which I totally understand. However, with all these different available touch ups, it makes the line between reality and the unreal pretty blurred. Accounts on social networks such as Instagram are constantly posting flawless photos that we have no way of knowing if they are truly authentic and it raises unrealistic expectations of body image for both women and men even higher. We should not encourage complete photoshopping and changing your appearance to get more ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ because let’s face it, no one is perfect!

I love the campaign that the global brand Dove are promoting, all about real beauty. On their social media accounts such as Twitter and Instagram they are endlessly encouraging unique beauty, directly interacting with their followers and using hashtags such as #realbeauty and #raisethebeautybar, clearly trying to promote that everyone is different and unrealistic expectations of what beautiful is need to be rid of. On their Instagram account Dove frequently post photos of women who are all different sizes, ages, ethnicities and all are accompanied with a hashtag of #realbeauty.

This is such a positive message to send out from a global company that will have a big influence on young people, all about body positivity and showing that everyone is different. Encouraging uniqueness is a wonderful thing in my eyes.

Another positive role model that has come to my attention is Anna Victoria. She is a verified Instagram member with way over 1 million followers and is the creator of ‘The Fit Body Guides’. Although she often posts photos of her amazing physique to her social media, she has recently posted an inspiring photo that shows the reality of women’s bodies.

The post features a collage of two photos; the first being a full body mirror-selfie of herself showing her toned body, and the second being one of her body sat down showing off her ‘rolls’. The caption accompanying it is a long one, explaining how she loves her body and the natural cellulite and stretch marks that she has, emphasising that all of this is natural and everyone should love themselves. It is really encouraging that someone with such a big following on Instagram is promoting body positivity and showing the reality of the human body without filters!

We have to become more aware of what’s real and what has been majorly enhanced on social media, because no one is airbrushed and flawless in real life. The media as a whole can distort expectations of body image and social media is a dangerous platform that can promote fake images that make others feel inadequate.

I’ve come up with a few tips that I do myself when it comes to social media that I thought I’d share with you as we part at the end of this blog! I never compare myself to other people on Instagram and although this may seem hard, instead I just decide to tell myself something positive or that I like about myself. Comparing yourself to deceiving photos on social media will never end well. Another one is to turn your phone off or just put it away at 9pm some nights. It means you’ll interact with people in REAL life and frankly I felt refreshed after trying it out. Lastly, how about having a day (or even two if you’re feeling ambitious) where you choose not to use social media at all? Find a hobby or read a book and just avoid the feisty playground that is social networking! You never know, it might open your eyes to a passion you didn’t know you had.

So, next time you look at down at your own body begrudgingly, after seeing a ‘perfect and flawless’ post on social media, think about the edits and filters that it could have gone through before being posted for everyone to see! Food for thought, people will more often than not post the ‘perfect’ version of themselves, the version they want everyone else to see but perhaps not the true and genuine version.

Thanks for reading guys, very appreciated!

xoxo