They used to say the camera never lies. But these days who can really tell? With the prevalence of social media, it seems we have to be ready for our “close up” at any given moment.
That was certainly the case for Adele when she was greeted by a fan during her Las Vegas show at the weekend.
The Brit megastar agreed to pose for an obligatory selfie. But her smile quickly turned to a frown in a clip that went viral after she realised the audience member had used a filter to make her look completely different.
“What have you done to my face?” she shrieked. “Why do you have filters like that? We don’t look like that darling.”
It was so refreshing to hear a star of Adele’s stature call out this trend for users to post pictures which look like they’ve been airbrushed to within an inch of their lives.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve played with filters on apps like Snapchat. But I also have children who are only too happy to tell me like it is – “Mum, you look like you’ve had a face transplant, and turned into a man”, was one particularly withering comment from my seven-year-old.
It’s easy for this to seem like harmless fun. But the pressure and the obsession with looks, especially for young people, seems to be an epidemic.
I was reminded of just how prevalent the internet and social media is in our children’s lives recently when my son’s primary school put on a digital safety workshop. It may sound a bit early, but it’s important to know or be reminded of the digital world our children will navigate as they get older.
There is just so much pressure to look like everyone else on social media and live up to unrealistic expectations. This leads to bullying and also anxiety as people try to live up to impossible standards.
I wish more stars like Adele would speak out against this sort of thing, and urge young people to realise it’s what’s on the inside that matters the most, not what’s on the outside.
