Image enhancement is commonplace in the 21st century as competition has increased significantly in many areas of life, such as the body image market. work. Children and adults alike are constantly exposed to images of unrealistic body types in advertisements, movies, magazines, and other media. This has influenced many issues, such as an increase in depression (along with other mental health issues) and eating disorders in various age groups. The phenomenon of distorted body image is not new, it has existed for millennia and the perfect body has always been difficult to achieve. However, the body type considered ideal today did not appear until the 19th century, due to the shift to manual labor. Although this is nothing new, the ideal body image is more than ever a concern, because with recent technological advances, image editing programs now allow transparent, easy and quick beautification of photographs. This essay will argue that editing programs are merely tools that, while enabling the unwanted tendency toward an unhealthy body image, are not directly responsible for it, as these applications were not created with the express purpose of improve photographs of people. Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayCurrently, social media is an integral part of many people's lives, with over a billion people having signed up on Instagram in June 2018. It is obvious that with such a powerful presence in society, social media is bound to have an effect on the way people perceive themselves. This is why Instagram and social media in general have been the subject of heated debate in recent years. A common concern is celebrities who retouch their photographs, as these celebrities are often perceived as idols by younger audiences. This sets an unhealthy precedent, as many children engage in unhealthy diets. But celebrities aren't the only ones who affect people's self-esteem. In fact, research has shown that people, regardless of age, tend to compare themselves more to their peers than celebrities for qualities such as character, intelligence, and physical attributes. , such as height and weight. Since Photoshop requires a certain level of skill to create realistic images, few users, aside from celebrities, heavily edit their photographs before sharing them. This would mean that while Photoshop plays an underlying role in body image distortion, the larger role is played by everyday people. For example, a trend has emerged in recent years promoting unsafe dietary practices called “thinspiration.” Inspiration is ideal media content that intentionally encourages weight loss, often in a way that glorifies dangerous behaviors, similar to eating disorders (Lewis & Arbuthnott, 2012). Thinspiration content is often accompanied by aggressive advice and encouragement for losing weight and staying slim. The trend started on eating disorder websites but has since spread to popular social media sites. Thanks to advanced search techniques, present in most social networks, which allow quick and easy content searching, one can find inspirational content in minutes, by searching the appropriate hashtags. This means that it is commonplace..