Photoshop, Lightroom, Pixlr Editor, Corel PaintShop. People used to use these to edit their photos as a hobby. Not anymore. Now, people use photoshop on their photos because they want to look perfect. Frequently used in the media, such as magazines, photographers and editors try to make every model or celebrity look perfect. People then think they need to look this way, and that is a truly an unrealistic goal. These editing apps also cause an emotional side effect. Photoshop should not be allowed in the media because it causes young adults to have self-esteem issues.

Young adults are inflicted with self-esteem problems when they see photoshopped photographs in the media. When young adults acquire these self-esteem issues it often leads to eating disorders. Photoshop in the media causes “individuals who are dissatisfied with their bodies to take extreme measures in a quest to morph themselves into what they think is an ideal body” (Abramovitz). The extreme measures that people go to include “anorexia, bulimia, and similar psychiatric disorders that lead them to starve themselves” (Abramovitz). No teenager should ever feel the need to starve themselves because of a low self-esteem. Instead of feeling great and healthy, some young adults feel sick and terrible about themselves. Photoshop is like the black plague because it never seems to go away. In addition, many studies and campaigns notice that photoshop in the media leads to self-esteem issues. The Dove Self-Esteem Fund “revealed that 80 percent of women felt images of female stars and models in the media made them feel insecure about themselves”(Abraham). This clearly shows a majority of women retain a low self-esteem after they look at the edited photos in the media. Also, many associations started to turn against photoshop. The American Medical Association recently stated that “they are taking a stand against image manipulation in advertising,” because “alterations made through processes like Photoshop can contribute to…… emotional problems” (Diller). Low-self esteem is the root of most emotional problems. Some celebrities also took a stand against photoshop. A famous actress and singer, Zendaya Coleman, also realized that photo editing can lead to self-esteem issues in young adults. She is against having her photos edited because she realizes that “these are the things that make young adults self-conscious” (Wang). Being a nineteen year old, she knows how it feels to look at the edited photos and to start to feel bad about yourself. Photo editing causes too many problems among young adults. There is no reason why these young people should obtain self-esteem issues that lead to eating disorders from a photograph they see in a magazine. Photoshop and photograph editing in the media need to be banned.

Although many think photo editing should not be allowed in media, people still support the idea of photo editing and think it should be allowed. The supporters of photo editing say that it will help inspire and motivate young adults to be fit and healthy. “If magazines portrayed women who were overweight or had acne as being beautiful, some girls may think it's OK to live an unhealthy lifestyle” (Botelho).That could be true to some extent. However, using a photo that is an unrealistic body size and shape since it was edited is not right. It gives young adults a false sense of hope that one day that is what their body will look like. In reality the young adults will never be able to obtain this picture perfect form. In a recent study in the UK “33% of the women polled feel the body they aspire towards is not possible for them to achieve” (Vagianos). Once they figure that they cannot look like this, it leads to self-esteem and eating disorder issues. Also, it has hard for young adults to feel strong minded when there is social pressure on them to be perfect. In the end, photo editing in social media does not inspire young adults to be healthy.

Getting rid of photo editing in the media will enhance the self-esteem of young adults. They will start to feel more confident about how they look and feel. Because everyone wants to feel happy and self-confident, photoshop and editing should be eliminated from the media. Right? The media can start showing how people truly look, and that will make the models and celebrities look even more beautiful.