A big issue starting to get some attention as of late is Photoshopping. We’ve all seen the magazines with gorgeous, airbrushed, touched up people gracing the covers and pages.
Some members of Congress have started to take notice of the issue with Photoshopping and how it can seriously distort the publics image of how and what people should look like. These members of Congress have recently asked the FTC to hold a meeting to discuss the nature of how Photoshop can cause serious problems and how they effect the people viewing the ads. Especially young people who look up to many of the people they see in these ads. Time and time again we see and hear of people wanting to make changes to themselves based off things they see in images. Realistically, the models in the images themselves don’t even look like that in person. It becomes quite the spiraling effect once viewers have the image of “perfect” in their heads when in reality, that “perfect” image is not the real thing at all. They also have pointed out how this can increase healthcare costs in the near future as more people will take to doctors and surgeries to make changes to themselves.
On the contrary, advertisers and brands in the billion dollar marketing industry will most likely combat this by saying that it is simply images and that they are aesthetically pleasing to the audience and in line with brand messaging. Because an image is photoshopped does not necessarily mean it is driving people to harm. Which proves a good point to the objecting argument. These advertisements continually drive traffic to stores and retailers and drive business year after year.
So what does the future for photoshop hold? We have seen the debate come up quite a few times in the past in terms of getting rid of it completely or perhaps limiting the amount of photoshop that is allowed to be placed on advertisements.
This is sure to be a hot issue as more people start to take notice of Congress’ objections.
To read more about this issue, check out this article from the Tampa Bay Times: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/ros-lehtinen-takes-on-photoshopping-to-make-people-look-better/2216624
What are your thoughts on Photoshopping and do you think it causes any harm to the viewers of the ads?