The issue of photo tampering on social media has long been a concern for many, but as technology plays a major role in the rapid dissemination of videos, should authorities intervene? Should do?
Crystal Berger insists she isn’t making any big changes to her appearance when she posts photos and videos on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. “I’m really just giving myself the best makeup and lighting digitally,” she says.
Berger, a young mother from the US state of Indiana, pays to subscribe to an app called Face Tune, which has been downloaded more than 20 million times worldwide.
The app allows its users to make facial changes, such as smoothing out wrinkles, or alternatively giving them complete freedom to completely change their face. For example, they can narrow their face, change the shape and size of their eyes, or digitally alter their nose.
Face Tune only worked on photos till two years ago but later it launched a version for short selfie videos which has increased its popularity.
Meanwhile, Perfect 365 is another popular app that allows users to edit their social media photos. Its video version is slated to launch later this year.
FaceTune is owned by Israeli company Lytrix and two years ago the company was valued at $1.8 billion.
Literx founder Zev Farbman says the key is to make the app work in a simple way. ‘You guys with 20% professional complex software. 80 percent want to power, that’s the game we’re trying to play.
But it has long been argued that such tools are unhealthy, because they promote an unrealistic ideal of beauty that can be dangerous, especially for young children and young adults. For example, according to a 2021 survey by skincare brand Dove, 80 percent of teenage girls say they had altered their appearance in online photos by the age of 13.
While no one is calling for a ban on the technology, social media advertisers and influencers are being forced to admit that they’ve changed their body composition. These are the people who are often paid to advertise the product in an informal way.
Norway introduced a law in 2021 requiring these two social media groups to report whether an image has been retouched. France is now going one step further, with a similar demand, saying that photos as well as videos should be told whether they have been touched up or not.
Meanwhile, the UK is also now looking into the issue, as the government’s online safety bill has reached parliament. However, it remains to be seen whether the law will target only social media ads or influencers as well.
A spokesman for the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said: “The government recognizes that digitally tampering with content can pose a risk, and (the government) takes this issue very seriously.”
Sean Mao, chief executive of San Francisco-based Perfect 365, urges people to use his app ‘safely and ethically’. “We encourage people to use the app to express their creativity and not to use the app to deceive others or misrepresent themselves,” he adds.
Some social media influencers will always be drawn to the idea of using tricks to improve their online appearance, says psychologist Stuart Duff, because looking good sells.
“Physical attractiveness has a strong but often unconscious influence on our decisions when it comes to buying products and services from others,” he says.
“When asked what is most important, we consciously downplay the importance of physical appearance and talk about qualities like intelligence, values, and personality, yet psychological research consistently shows a shows a strong positive correlation between a person’s attractiveness and their ability to sell us that item.’
A social media influencer, known as Brandon B, has 5.6 million subscribers on YouTube. They believe that photo and video manipulation apps should be viewed positively.
“I’m glad apps like this exist, because I think there are a lot of people who aren’t very ‘body positive’ in how they present themselves on social media, so maybe they feel like they’re not,” she says. He is not going to take them with him. These tools help them get on (their) social media.”
However, Dr. Shera Brown, an emergency physician at South Niagara Hospital in Ontario, Canada, says that distorted perceptions of body composition seem to be rampant on social media.
“We see the immediate consequences of social media on mental health in our departments on a daily basis, such as anxiety, suicidal thoughts and depression,” she adds.