Social media has its benefits: connecting with friends, sharing experiences and widening users' understanding of broader issues beyond their local community. The challenge with connecting and sharing experiences via social media, however, is that these shared experiences are often conveyed mainly through images. For young people, wanting to fit in and caring about their physical appearance is a perfectly normal part of adolescence. However, with widespread easy access to image-altering software and filters, the physical appearance of a person we see online is often not the reality - further increasing the pressure for young people to gain or to portray unreal perceptions.
In this guide, you'll find tips on potential risks relating to appearance, such as filters, 'airbrushing' and damage to self-esteem.