One third of 18-25-year-olds doctor their photos before posting them on social media amid pressure to look like their favourite celebrities, study reveals

More than half of young people feel pressure to look like celebs on social mediaInstagram was the most common site for young people to edit their images 

It seems that you can't open any form of social media without being bombarded by heavily photoshopped snaps of celebs or influencers.

But a new survey shows it isn't just the famous touching up their pictures, as a third of 18 to 25-year-olds now say they will doctor their photos before posting.

The study, conducted by researchers from ID Crypt Global, found that the majority of young people felt pressured to edit their images in order to look like celebrities or influencers.

And amid rising concerns over the effect on young people's body image, Instagram still proved the most popular place for doctored images.

Of those who said they edit their photos, 83 per cent said they would be most likely to adjust their appearance for Instagram above any other platform.

A survey has found that a third of young people aged 18 to 25 edit their images before uploading them to social media like Instagram. This photo shows one of many tutorials for editing photos available online

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The survey of 778 young people found that the most common use of photo-editing software was to adjust the lighting or tone of the image.

Just under half of the respondents said they would adjust images in this way, while 30 per cent said they would use a filter in the app.

A smaller group took more steps to adjust their images, with 18 per cent saying they would use an app on their phone to make adjustments before uploading.

Yet despite the growing availability of AI editing tools, including one in Adobe Photoshop, only one per cent said they would edit their photos using AI.

The research found that the most common reason for young people to edit their photos was to alter some aspect of their physical appearance.

Of those surveyed who said they edit their photos, 42 per cent said they did so to change their appearance. Just under half of those who edit their photos do so by adjusting the lighting and tone of the image

Celebs like Kris Jenner (left) and Khloe Kardashian (right) have been criticised for their heavy use of photo editing on social media which creates false standards for young people

Of those who edited their photos for social media 42 per cent said they did so to change their hair colour, skin tone, weight, or some other physical feature.

This was followed by removing someone or something from the image, which 20 per cent said they would do.

A further 16 per cent said they edited their photos for fun with silly filters while 15 per cent said they made edits to maintain a certain theme or style across all their posts.

But while their goals were somewhat varied, the researchers found that many of those editing their photos had a common motivation.

Out of the respondents, 58 per cent said they felt societal pressure to doctor their images to present themselves in a certain way, such as feeling the need to look like celebrities or influencers.

Numerous celebrities have been criticised for setting unrealistic or unhealthy standards of beauty on social media, especially when it comes to issues like weight.

Celebs like Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner, and Chloe Ferry have all been criticised for editing their pictures online.

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Other celebs have been shocked to find their own pictures edited against their wishes to make them appear slimmer or to remove natural flaws.

And on Instagram in particular, the use of filters and photo-editing is widespread among influencers.

On Tik-Tok, while only 7 per cent of respondents said they would edit photos to post on the platform, there are numerous videos explaining how to edit photos for Instagram.

The tag '#intaworthy' currently has 6,671 videos posted - many with hundreds of thousands of views.

However, studies have shown that both exposure to edited images and posting edited images can lead to mental health issues among young people.

Studies have shown that being exposed to edited images on social media can lead young people to dislike their bodies and become embarrassed of how they look.

On TikTok the tag '#instaworthy' has been used on over 6,600 videos, showing young people how to edit their images before posting them online

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One study published last year found that one in five children from 12 to 21 was experiencing body image issues such as eating difficulties or vomiting.

Other research suggests that photo editing encourages people to view their bodies in a way that reinforces the risks of body shame, depression, and eating disorders.

A 2018 paper found that users posting edited pictures reported feeling less attractive, and experienced poorer self-esteem, and lower mood.

While most respondents to the survey and tutorials on TikTok involve making minor changes to the exposure and saturation of images, some worry that this could lead to bigger issues.

Ms Lauren Wilson-Smith, CEO of ID Crypt Globa which funded the research, says: 'While making edits to social media snaps might seem innocent enough, there are some underlying motivations that deserve our concern.

'The new phenomenon of social media fame is setting unattainable expectations for how kids should look and the kinds of lifestyles they should lead. And in doing so, it’s removing young people from reality.'

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