How do I ADOBE thee?

Does every picture taken need to be photoshopped? Is everyone busy trying to hide their flaws? In this selfie-crazed environment, there are innumerable celebs who swear by photoshop. Yet in a slow trend, many celebs like Priyanka Chopra, Demi Lovato, Bella Thorne and others are raising the bar by using non-photoshopped images and showing the world what they really look like. Bloggers, sociologists and experts tell us what they think about viewing oneself a certain way instead of accepting their looks without any air brushing.

Nischita Babu, a blogger always stands by portraying her real self! She says, “When the concentration is on creating good work or good content, you will have an added interest in beautifying or creating a fake you! We all edit our pictures, but we need to know where to draw the line. Adjusting lighting, contrast, adding a filter, is all fine! But enhancing one’s body or facial features is definitely not ethical.”

But, in recent times, people have gone overboard with photoshop and it is now not even realistic. The same happened when recently Kim Kardashian posted a picture on Instagram of her photoshopped self which so clearly showed that the car in the background was squeezed. As hilarious as it is, it also shows the extent some people can go to, to look picture perfect.

Sociologist, Girish Balachandran thinks being able to accept oneself is perhaps, the biggest gift we could ever give ourselves.  “We’re living in an era of post-truth becoming increasingly cynical of accepting things the way they are presented to us. If it’s ‘perfect’ there’s probably something wrong with it, we think. Authenticity and being human — warts and all, has assumed new currency. Being presented to the world the way we are, rather than through photoshopped imagery, is the new cool. It’s 2018. Keep it real, people,” says Girish.

Is it just about the perfect snapshot or something to do with self-esteem? Anikha SJ, a psychologist says, “Photoshop hampers perception about one’s body image which is a true reflection of one’s self-esteem. Masking and filtering yourself for acceptance leads to false self-belief. Leading us to constantly question oneself, ‘Who am I?’ Beauty not only lies in the eyes of the beholder but in one’s thoughts and actions.”