How social media distorts body image - an explore page curated by Jordan

This is our version of the discovery tool. Except we’ll choose just *one* topic worth exploring and share Jordan’s personalized recommendations from all over the web.

Filters, FaceTune, photo editing apps… Every time we open social media, we see its work – and not just on celebrities, but sometimes even friends. While I pride myself on not using any of those features now, I have definitely resorted to using them in the past. I thought being able to “enhance” my appearance at the swipe of my finger was harmless, but it soon became too jarring for me to look back at old photos and know deep down that that’s not how I actually looked. Now, with the common use of all of these apps, I worry that a majority of people are forgetting. Forgetting that the airbrushed complexions and poreless skin that we see on social media is not reality. 

Recently, a popular skincare brand shared a video of me and as I was scrolling through the comments, I read one that said: “She needs to microneedle.” My heart broke. Not because she hurt my feelings – I know I have acne scars, rosacea and textured skin – and on most days, I’m okay with that. I was more disappointed in how this woman really believed that skin should be textureless and poreless, probably like the skin she’s used to seeing all over her iPhone screen. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend – a fashion influencer in her late 30s – who said a brand actually asked her to use a filter on her content. 

Women have been seeing a distorted representation of their bodies for a long time, but it seems like tech is just providing newer and faster ways to deliver that image. I understand the temptation to utilize these apps, especially as a woman on the internet, but I’m a firm believer at this point that they are doing so much more harm than good. 

Ever since the microneedling comment, I’ve been thinking a lot about the things I’ve seen or read that have shifted my perspective on this topic, and I wanted to share them here.