I am very excited to have the
opportunity to write about any form of technology. There are so many different possibilities,
and it gives me the chance to speak my mind about how some technologies can
cause irreparable damage. What I want to talk about is Photoshop and editing.
This question in mainly for the ladies. Have you
ever seen a photo in a magazine and absolutely envied what you saw? The model
might have a “perfect” body, or great skin. How much of that do you think is
real? The ability to use technology to edit these pictures puts the standard
for modern beauty extremely high, and this can negatively effect the
development of young girl’s.
According to Vivian Diller, “Clearly, these are complicated psychological and
sociological issues, in terms of both the underlying causes for the recent
explosion of adolescent
eating disorders as well as the subtle (and not so subtle) ways the
media influence these problems. Just as there have long been questions about
the connection between violence on TV and childhood aggression, or between
cigarette ads and adolescent smoking, more research is required to know how to
move forward on the cultural impact of Photoshop”. The unrealistic standards
set by advertisements causes young girls to feel inadequate, causing eating
disorders, low self- esteem, and even depression. A few years ago, Dove made a
video showing how twisted and deceiving advertisements can be. They started
with a photograph of a beautiful woman on a billboard. They show how much the
hair stylists, make- up artists, and the editor did to make the advertisement.
It is absolutely appalling.
The
recent shift in Dove’s advertising to show real women is causing many other companies
to change. Clothing companies and beauty product companies are using women more
relatable to the audience. They are not using Photoshop or unreasonable
editing. Things are looking forward in the world of advertising and the
wellbeing of young girls.
Here is a link to the Dove video for those who
are interested: Dove Evolution
Diller,
Ph.D., Vivian. "Is Photoshop Destroying America's Body Image?" The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 July 2011. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vivian-diller-phd/photoshop-body-image_b_891095.html>.
This is definitely an issue in our society and it is unfortunate to see marketing campaigns that prove detrimental to the development of our youth, both girls and boys. Products are intended for consumers to make our lives more convenient, safer, more entertaining, etc. Product sales should not rely on false advertising or impose superficial ideals or expectations for the public. Great blog, Cat.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic for your blog! I, too, have seen the Dove commercial, and I think it is great that companies are now starting to realize that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, and doesn't need to be altered with photoshop (or excessive make up). And I agree with David, although the need to look good has been aimed mostly towards women/girls, men/boys are under this pressure as well. One of my good friends was in a documentary, and when she was sent the cover picture she was very upset. The person who was editing the photo, had photoshopped her legs to look skinnier. Now my friend is average height, and average weight and beautiful, but the fact that someone else thought that making her legs skinnier would 'sell' better to an audience made her mad. Although this is small compared to the models that sell our daily products, I saw how mad/sad this one action had made her, it made me think about those models. Models are already known to look a certain way, and then even if they achieve that, they can still be photoshopped. I wonder how they feel about the situation?
ReplyDeleteI watched the Dove commercial and was amazed at the time and effort that was put into the billboard. WIth the use of photoshop and such they completely transformed the girl in the ad to look like someone completely different. I was aware that companies used this kind of technologies to promote their product or a celebrity, but I never knew that they did so to such an extent. Very interesting blog :)
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