Popular singer, Marina and the Diamonds, has recently criticised an unnamed artist for airbrushing an image of her. Marina was very disappointed when she saw the image and claimed that her legs looked like ‘literal sticks’. Marina has spoken out against the false image and is incredibly angered by what has happened.
This is not the first time scandals and airbrushed images have been produced of celebrities. Airbrushing occurs on many famous celebrities, especially the Kardashians and famous models. The false image that airbrushing produces has been criticised by celebrities such as Jamila Jamil, Chrissy Teigan and Riverdale star Lili Reinhart. Many celebrities feel that an increase in awareness of these false images is essential for us to understand that imperfections in regards to our image are normal
Following the recent scandals and criticisms of airbrushing, I thought I would take the opportunity to write about some of the issues with airbrushing and how it can be incredibly dangerous for our mental health.
The influence of social media continues to implement our lives and air brushed images are something we see daily. Particularly with the increase of social media sites such as Instagram, which are solely based on images, many of us can easily be deceived by air brushed images we view online.
Airbrushing can leave us feeling incredibly insecure and comparing ourselves to the images we see of models and celebrities online. Nevertheless, we need to remember that these images are false and they are just taken in one moment, therefore we should never compare ourselves to the way certain images look online.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists have carried out research into some of the effects of the increase of airbrushed images online. They have recently found that the increase in viewing these images has had incredibly negative impacts on self esteem. This has resulted in an increase in eating disorders, particularly amongst teenage girls, who view unhealthy body images online and aspire to look a certain way.
Many celebrities have also been criticised for promoting nutrition products, alongside airbrushed images of themselves, such as shakes and diet pills. This has also led to an increase in eating disorders and has had extremely dangerous health consequences.
I believe that airbrushed images are incredibly negative in society and they can leave us feeling really low. It is important that we always remember what we see online may not be reality and we should never compare ourselves to others. It can be difficult, but we must remember that accepting our own natural images and not comparing ourselves to what we see online is really important.