In the British Realistic Show "How to Look Good Naked" conducted a survey among 2000 social network users on how many of them edit their appearance in the photos. As it turned out, 74%, that is, every eighth person, admitted that they would not put a picture without photoshop on social networks. Of these people, 8% noted that they remove the rash on the skin, and 12% make the skin more smooth. It is not known that they edit the rest, but in the photoshop era, they probably adjust the figure, the shape of the parts of the face - the nose or lips - and make the hair is more dense, for example. I decided to explore the view of psychologists on this current topic.
No less interesting statistics
The audience of the TV channel also showed that 28 percent edit their photos to look at them as best as possible, while another fifth does it to meet the standards of social networks, knowing that most people also edit images before share it . Each tenth admitted that it uses editing to eliminate any deficiencies detected, and 18% seek to present the "best version of themselves" on the Internet. In search of the best selfie, a third is experimenting with inclination angles, until he finds the one that is suitable for them, and 28 percent do the same with lighting. More than 10% of respondents try to shoot photos at sunset or dawn when soft light falls on them, visually transforming skin. It also found out that the average user of social networks will spend 20 minutes before selecting your favorite image for editing and publishing. And more than two fifths publish a photo only when they consider it "ready for work on social networks."
Do not spend a lot of time
Photo: unsplash.com.
Viewing the profiles of other people in social networks can also lead to uncertainty about their own body: every seventh has a feeling of envy to how others look like, and 14 percent believe that their body does not correspond to the ideal. Every third asked noted that he thought about filler and plastic operations after they thought that after editing they would look better than in real life.
Teenagers are at risk
In July 2019, a large psychological study was published in Jama under the heading "Association of Screen Time and Depression in Adolescence" ("Association of time spent behind the screen and depression in adolescence"). The study was attended by more than 3,800 adolescents for four years under the Program for the Prevention Program and Alcoholism. Part of the fact that researchers measured, there was a number of time to use smartphone with teenagers, including the time spent on social networks, as well as the number of depressed symptoms. One of their main findings was the fact that frequent use of social networks was associated with the manifestation of depression.
Full picture
Another study, "Social Media Use and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms: A Cluster Analysis", published in 2018, revealed five different types of social network users. The main conclusion was that the "problematic use of social networks" was one of the main themes for people whose mental health was affected by social networks. What creates a problem for use? Researchers have adapted Facebook Dependencies Bergen to cover all forms of social networks. The questionnaire includes questions such as "You are using Facebook to forget about personal problems", "You feel the desire to use Facebook more and more" and "You tried to reduce the use of Facebook, but unsuccessfully."
live and enjoy the moment, and do not try to shoot on camera everything around
Photo: unsplash.com.
So, social networks are useful or harmful to mental health? It turns out that, as well as for many other psychological questions, it is impossible to give an unequivocal response - we presented only a part of the studies. It is possible that events such as cybershiping, comparing themselves with idealized images and constant monitoring of your profile, are harmful to your mood. For many, it is also true that social networks offer community support and positive messages. The key to extracting benefits from social networks may be to use them in moderate quantities and maintain social communication, and not to use them as a support for overcoming other stressful situations and mental health problems.