With an app that has filters built-in as a primary feature, it’s almost unprecedented to see an entirely natural Instagram photo in your feed. It’s expected of users to adjust the lighting, saturation, and brightness of their photos, especially in the case of influencers who make part of their living off depicting their lives in a specific manner.
Still, Photoshop is another force entirely — and one influencer, Amanda Steele, is speaking out against the normalization of dramatic Photoshopping on Instagram, a practice she considers a harmful category of manipulation.
“People edit themselves so much on Instagram it’s sad that people can’t just appreciate natural beauty,” the 18-year-old model, who has two million followers herself, posted in a series of tweets on Thursday.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BV852GVlszN/?taken-by=amandasteele&hl=en
While Steele readily admits to filtering and editing her own photos, her Twitter accusations are directed to influencers who use Photoshop to “literally reshape themselves,” sending a poor message to girls who are following them.
people edit themselves so much on Instagram it's sad that people can't just appreciate natural beauty
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
how is ANYONE supposed to live up to these expectations when they are false??
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
Like geez please just leave yourself be! You are beautiful enough without photoshop!
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
It is one thing for magazines/campaigns to photoshop photos but making your personal profile a unrealistic version of yourself is not fair!
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
there are so many girls out there wondering why they aren't that beautiful or skinny etc… you have no idea what you put these girls thru
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
I totally get skin smoothing and detailing to make a more flawless photo but I know soooo many people who literally reshape themselves
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
I'm talking about people with large followings that are literally INFLUENCERS. Everything you do INFLUENCES thousands of people
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
If you put yourself out there purposely creating a following, please use your power positively 🙁
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
She also encouraged her followers to stop comparing themselves, because the facade of the Perfect Gir™ on Instagram is just that.
So moral of the story. NEVER COMPARE YOURSELF TO PEOPLE ONLINE. Do not let it get you down. You are beautiful and the whole world knows it!
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
Like I've worked my whole life to love my flaws and now I guess publicizing them isn't proper Instagram model etiquette… smh
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
I love you. You're beautiful. Fuck the fake. Mic drop I'm out
— Amanda Steele (@MakeupbyMandy24) July 27, 2017
Instagram is the social media platform that most negatively impacts young people’s mental health, and even celebrities like Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber have deleted it in the name of their mental health. With all of the Photoshop scandals that make headlines (and applause over un-retouched campaigns) it’s becoming clearer and clearer that young women want to see authentic images of beauty reflected online and in magazines.
