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Instagram and Mental Health: an Endless Cycle
Instagram is arguably the most used social media platform today. Yet what are the consequences of our casual obsession with Instagram on our mental health? Why is Instagram useful? Instagram is useful for several reasons. From that one app we can stay in the loop with friends, keep up with fashion trends, follow our favourite celebs and even grow our own platform. The limits are endless when it comes to Instagram, that’s why we tend to not get bored with the app compared to others. Over recent years, Instagram has become a useful tool to those trying to gain a large following on a social platform. The use of hashtags…
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Fashion Marketing and Negative Body Image: From Love Island to Photoshop…
Marketing is one of the most important aspects of fashion – without it, the products wouldn’t sell! The fashion market is extremely competitive, with new youth-targeted fashion brands constantly launching online with the biggest challenge being to stand out. As a result, brands are looking for new ways to engage their target audience through more creative advertising techniques, however these are not always positive in the eyes of the consumer, leaving us feeling inadequate when it comes to our body image. Love Island is a huge marketing success story Why do marketers care about Love Island? Around 58% of viewers are female More than 50% viewers are ages 16 and 34 (also known as…
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Will Our Lives Ever Be Not Filtered?
Do fashion brands and magazines think about the impact of using the same size models? Do they consider the effect this has upon teenagers and young adults? Why is Photoshop used to remove natural imperfections that make us who we are? In almost all magazines there is some sort of diet recommendations for those wishing to lose weight, however, do you see many about gaining weight? Social media and photoshopping ‘imperfections’ There are many teenagers/young adults who aspire to look like Victoria’s Secret models, the models for fashion brands or more commonly nowadays social media influencers. Not all are aware models bodies undergo Photoshop to be made as the ‘perfect’…
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The Beautiful and The Ordinary: Are We Filtering Out Reality?
Reality, or at least our perception of it, has come under pressure over recent years. To live up to the expectations that our filtered culture has learnt to value is becoming increasingly difficult. What does it mean to be beautiful? Does Photoshop and social media distort our impression of the reality written on our faces? Or was our reality distorted to begin with? The pursuit of perfection: In a recent article by The Guardian, cosmetic doctor Tijion Esho discusses the widespread effects of social media editing and Photoshop. In the piece, Esho looks in particular at our fixation with external appearance. He considers how the journey to the perfect self has…
