Healthstyles: Rethinking Photoshop

Recently, a friend who has a teenager brought up concerns about the prevalence of digitally enhanced, or Photoshopped, images in the media. Indeed, barely a day goes by without some celebrity or magazine causing a frenzy for publishing a picture that Photoshopped an already beautiful human being.
“Foul!” the techies, fans and parents cry.
But wait. Is today’s Photoshop really a bad thing? The desire for a picture of a physically perfect human being has existed long before Photoshop. Back then, however, models would have to resort to “hard work” before a photo shoot to look “perfect.”
Back in the 1990s, for example, this “hard work” involved questionable diets, over-exercising, taking weird fat-burning substances and even dehydration to lose that last little nano-inch.
All this “hard work” was kept secret, which meant that too many kids were unaware of just how fake those pictures were. This was unhealthy, both psychologically and (in cases where kids would try to mimic what they saw) physically.
Today’s photo-enhancement technology fixes any defect allowing models a little more leeway.
Need a few less inches here? No problem. A few more inches there?
No problem. Need a tan? Different hair? Horns and tail or a funny hat?
No problem.
What’s exciting is that this technology is now accessible to everyone—especially our young people. Kids today not only know of Photoshop, they routinely use it themselves. And with the right kind of guidance, they can understand the truth behind the physically perfect images they see. In a world where perfect images are always in demand, this understanding is healthier for them.
Better still, this marriage of technology with their favorite celebrities makes kids curious. With guidance, they can manipulate the technologies rather than their own bodies and understand the limits of both. They can share their creations with each other and build support systems. They can start to take the technology apart and think of ways to improve it.
So, kids, I say, “Photoshop away.” Shave off inches. Add them. Apply kooky effects. Have fun, but also share the fact that you Photoshopped. Share not only the truth about your body, but also the truth about your truest beauty: your own intelligence.
Neera Siva is a health enthusiast, mom, patent attorney and writer, in no particular order. She and her family live in Santa Clara County. Check out her website at healthierbites.com.