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Most of us are probably guilty of polishing our social media accounts. But some don't stop there. They go above and beyond in Photoshop, inventing a totally new version of themselves. However, they aren't fooling everyone—the subreddit r/Instagramreality is dedicated to exposing these fakes, and allow us to see their true colors. With nearly 950K members, the community constantly posts new findings that simply look too bad to be true. If you're done scrolling and wish to check out more similar pics, fire up our earlier Instagram vs. Reality posts here and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
What She Lacks In Calves She Makes Up In Shoe Size
Johnny Rodriguez 3 years ago
How can you look at this picture and think: 'Perfect, my legs look beautiful!' I think she is seriously ill. This is dangerous..
In an earlier interview, the head moderator of the r/Instagramreality subreddit, Zaza9000, told Bored Panda that 2020 was "hard on all of us," so they try to keep the community easy to engage with and be a part of. This openness is one of the reasons why the subreddit is so popular. "Last year so many people have shared interesting stories from their personal lives and I really hope we can carry that into 2021."
According to the head moderator, there have been some shifts in how people approach editing their content. Recently, there's been more interest in video editing than photo editing, for instance. "Especially apps like Facetune2 and SNOW that allows you to edit your body and certain Instagram filters that can make your lips appear bigger and make your skin unrealistically perfect. Seeing them glitch in videos has been a really popular topic on the sub," they explained.
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#2
Econ 101
#3
We’ve Got Another Member Of The Pea-Head Squad. His Head Compared To His Hands...i Can’t
Nuno Albuquerque, the Head of Treatment for the UK Addiction Treatment Group, told Bored Panda that social media addiction is a relatively new phenomenon that everyone is still learning about every single day.
"A person can be addicted to anything, but they are only suffering an addiction if whatever it is they are 'using' has taken over their lives, and that they as individuals have lost the power of choice, i.e. that they cannot, regardless of how much they want to, stop 'using'. This is the effect that addiction has, it robs the individual of the ability to stop. Even if that individual is aware of the negative physical, psychological, or financial consequences, they still cannot stop. It is essential to not use the word 'addiction' flippantly; if a person is addicted, then they are in need of professional help and support."
#4
Photographer’s Page vs. Model’s Page
Ray Martin 3 years ago
Why? Just why?! She is already beautiful and has the body of a dancer, but with buttocks and thighs as atrophied as they appear in the modified picture, she would have trouble walking. Madness.
Becky Samuel 3 years ago
Well it's hardly surprising that people end up with body dysmorphia when they stand in front of a mirror for hours every day starting in childhood while someone in a position of power tells them how awful and wrong their body is.
Memere 3 years ago
That's what most ballet schools/teachers do to the girls & women, to the point of death. A former co-worker's daughter died as a result of anorexia brought on by her years in ballet.
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Easily Excitable Panda 3 years ago
The photographer's picture is so much more beautiful. If that were me, I'd be proud.
Katerina Huskova 3 years ago
Something in this world is soooo wrong that such a beautifull young lady feels need of improving herself
Naomi Cline 3 years ago
And she has totally removed the lovely curves and lines of a dancer and now looks like a scare crow
Jessica Aubé 3 years ago
Can you imagine having that perfect of a body and someone photoshops it ? Truly this makes me feel less harsh about my own body . If perfection isn’t good enough my fat ass is never going to come close to qualifying so I’m gonna love it just the way it is .
Id row 3 years ago
There are poor edit shaming sites all over the place, why would people still blatantly do this? I'm in for a whole lot of second hand embarrassment if this is just the first one.
MyCatsTheRealPanda 3 years ago
Don't you know? Their photoshop skills are on POINT! There's no way anyone will notice ;) not like all the other whack photoshop jobs people do lol.
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Thenatural 3 years ago
Looks perfect on the left, on the right she looks like she forgot to put her a**e on.
Michael Capriola Jr. 3 years ago
This joke of a picture is too stupid to make a joke about it.
Layla Corman 3 years ago
Her body looks so much better in the first pic! She literally has no butt in the 2nd pic! Just legs meet back!
NaChO tHe UnIcOrN 3 years ago
Body dysmorphia is real and emotionally painful. Especially when it comes to sports and skills that focus on the body.
Russian Otaku 3 years ago
This is possible just gotta handle the excruciating pain of popping out your joints and being held up by green supports
Noel Benavente 3 years ago
So, to Instagrammers, to look like an alien is better than looking like a regular person?
Anita Pickle 3 years ago
Not sure why anyone would photoshop their butt to look longer... Strange
Paul K. Johnson 3 years ago
A web page can stretch a photo and make it look really stupid. This looks like that to me rather than deliberate photoshopping. The whole image is stretched vertically.
#5
When Blurring Your Wrinkles, Don't Forget To Blur Your Reflection Too...
#6
Whitest Teeth In The West
According to Albuquerque, the Covid-19 lockdowns are helping the situation either; they're making us spend more time on social media but we should be aware of how much its use affects us.
"We would say that it is more than likely that society as a whole spent more time on social media and other Internet-based platforms during the Covid-19 lockdowns than before, simply because for many, their normal day to day life was turned upside down, or even stopped altogether, and so a lot of people found they had more spare time on their hands. Some people turned to social media during the lockdown to stay connected with others, which is really important and actually a healthy approach to take. Where it starts to negatively affect a person is when being on social media consumes them completely, and they no longer want to be present in their actual 'offline' day."
#7
Someone Needs To Come Take Their Moms Phone (In The Comments She Swears She Didn't Edit)
#8
Skin Texture, We All Have It
#9
This Sri Lankan Influencer Photoshoped African Elephants To Her Photo. There Are Only Asian Elephants In Sl. All The Elephants Are Photoshoped
chi-wei shen 3 years ago
The influencer didn't know the difference and most of the viewers also don't know.
So where does the line between a regular social media user and somebody who is addicted to it lies? Albuquerque thinks it's different for each individual, so it's important to recognize whether or not the person has lost the power of choice.
"If the person cannot undertake their regular day to day routine without being on social media or needing to get back to being on social media, as in they have potentially developed not only a psychological desire to be online but also physical urges begin as well, then there could well be an addiction there," he said.
#10
Those Proportions Though
#11
Every Post Is This Weird Forced Laugh Pose And Soullessly White Eyes
#12
Pants For Stick People
#13
When Your Eyes Are So Piercing, They Burn Holes In Your Hair
birdie asf 3 years ago
i mean this one isn't THAT bad compared to the others, but is this going to be in my nightmares? yea it is
Albuquerque said an unhealthy relationship with social media could also be recognized if the individual develops mental health illness from being online, for example, feelings of anxiety or depression arising during or after being on social media.
"Similarly, for some people we have treated at our UK Addiction Treatment Centres, being on social media is a trigger for them to then misuse drugs or alcohol. During therapy, we address why a person drinks alcohol or misuses drugs, and for some, it is because of their unhealthy relationship with social media," the UKAT Group Head of Treatment explained.
#14
The Caption Says It’s Not Photoshop, But... How?
#15
First Time I’ve Ever Seen Someone Photoshop Their Fridge
#16
I Don't Even Know Where To Begin. With The Ass? Or The Clipart Wine Glass?
#17
I Don’t Know Where To Start
#18
Guys, I’m Scared
#19
Someone Photographed A Chinese Celebrity And Showed What She Truly Looks Like Without Photoshop
Tabby_Sohee 3 years ago
On the right she just looks like a cute, slightly tired, normal-haired woman with the body of a human, not a pencil. Why would they photoshop it so bad...
#20
No Cuticles, No Pores, No Texture
#21
Same Girl All Photos
Alphabet Soupy 3 years ago
Last time I followed the link and learned this influencer uses the filter that makes you look like a kid again. No biggie, except she then posts pics in lingerie or sexy poses...with a child’s face, some on her Only Fans page 🤮
#22
1.2 Million Followers Btw
Dogfan4life 3 years ago
Why would people change their bodies like this? Everyone is perfect just the way they are.
#23
I Physically Recoiled When I Saw The Eyes
#24
Chinese Online Shopping Mall. Yeag Chinese Are Crazy For Being Tall And Long Legs. No Need To Explain More
#25
Badly Editing Yourself Into Famous Locations Is Easily One Of My Most Hated Igr Trends
#26
Shooped So Hard That It Looked Like They Cant Even Move A Face Muscle
#27
What In Tarnation Is This???
#28
She Doesnt Have Nose
#29
No Actual Trees Were Harmed Will Creating That Tiny Waist
#30
When Your Friend Only Gets Half Face-Tuned
#31
Aliexpress Never Change Please
#32
I Can't Believe She Thought This Was Fine To Post! Her Face Is So Edited It Looks Like A Drawing
#33
This Fast Fashion Model Getting A Little Overzealous With The Airbrush Feature. Skin Texture Who?
#34
Aliexpress Never Disappoints
#35
She Wants No Skin Texture On Her Face But I Guess Veins Are Where It’s At? Also Do Her Hands Drag On The Ground When She Walks?
#36
What Are Organs?
#37
Instagram Picture Versus Screenshot From A Video
#38
She Literally Photoshopped Herself On Someone’s Car And Didn’t Even Tag Him
#39
So Natural
ravina nimje 3 years ago
He looks like an optical illusion picture which says "What do you see first will tell you personality "
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Jayne Kyra 3 years ago
While many of these are funny or just ridiculous, it makes me wonder how many of these people suffer from Body Dysmorphia.
Ryan Deschanel 3 years ago
Body dysmorphia is a real thing, a very serious thing, but it is too often used as a cynical way to underestimate the pain of living which ugly people feel because of the way society treats them and forces them into perpetual shame and loneliness.
Load More Replies...
B 3 years ago
I've always wondered why people want to look plastic. I mean, at some point they'll be exposed, or will meet someone who has seen the photos and who will be like, 'owait, that's not really how you look.' Then I realised that some of these fakers have made a lot of money from looking plastic. So there are people out there who enjoy looking at heavily edited photos. Makes me wonder which lot - the posers or the viewers - are the saddest.
J Rob 3 years ago
"B" I agree with you. I wounder how in the world some of these pictures can be perceived by their creators as faltering. The extent of the distortion is beyond tangible comprehension. It leaves me gobsmacked!
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MB 3 years ago
Just about all of them would look great without all the editing. It’s scary and sad that they feel the need to do this.
Yort 3 years ago
At the very least, I don’t think any of them could look WORSE than the edited version.
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Sophia Graubart 3 years ago
Moral of the post: you are not a Barbie doll. Do not make yourself into a Barbie doll
A C 3 years ago
This is so sad. Why do we continue to believe these obnoxious "beauty" standards ....
Si 3 years ago
Because the media is a multi trillion dollar behemoth. And these girls and women are doing their individual best in the face of it.
Load More Replies...
Doggo Froggo 3 years ago
It's sad how many people feel as though their true selves are not enough.
Dogfan4life 3 years ago
Why do people do this? I have recently done an assignment on social media, and this was one of the main (bad) reasons about social media and social media apps. Imagine being these people who really looked nice in real life...but make a fake image online. Please don't do this! You are beautiful just the way you are! And if you do post photos of the real you....good job! 💕
Rannveig Ess 3 years ago
My 10 year old neighbor asked me why these platforms don't tag all these photos with some text that they are Photoshopped or what filters were used. She said they tag articles or opinion pieces with warnings that it's not "factual" or outright remove and ban people so why aren't these apparently emotionally ill people treated in a way that frowns upon all this because it's harmful or "people are lying and need help" Out of the mouth of babes...
Becky Moore 3 years ago
If magazines adverts for mascaras now have to tell you when the eyelashes are photoshopped then I hope it's only a matter of time, but I'm not sure how it can even be monitored.
Load More Replies...
angie but who cares 3 years ago
we shame plastic surgery and editing so witch one do you want because if people aren't getting plastic surgery there gonna edit if they can't edit there gonna get plastic surgery come on
Rainbow Panda 3 years ago
No offense, but the one that isn’t photoshopped looks so much better. 📷
Roisin Reid 3 years ago
I think there is probably a lot of body dysmorphia at play here. I think these people are victims. I think we have had tv adverts and magazines doing this for years to profit from from people feeling inadequate. We need photo shop bans for beauty products.
cah 3 years ago
It's really sad that people are so insecure that they think they have to change the way they look.
Si 3 years ago
It’s really sad that women are put under such scrutiny by society.
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Si 3 years ago
Because there are so many bitchy judgmental people on the internet. This thread being a case in point.
Load More Replies...
Jonah Denny-Mayo 3 years ago
I feel like most of the people here would genuinely be good looking with out all the editing the pics.
Demon Child 3 years ago
See they never get caught cus they look like completely different people :/
Dre Mosley 3 years ago
Too many people are using Photoshop without having the skill to make something at least convincing at first glance.
Al Jones 3 years ago
A lot of these are so out there, that I don't understand how anyone can look at these pictures, think "oh great!" and post these. But even if they could somehow do that, what saying to people (or themselves)? That they're not beautiful enough show themselves without completely changing what they look like? That others should try to look like a heavily edited version of reality? I can't really say I blame the people on the pics - they are just a reflection of the society they - and we - live in. I think all of us, particularly parents and educators, need to ask ourselves what we can do to stop this.... Rant over!
Elaina Gatch 3 years ago
Just be yourself. All of these people are wonderful and beautiful. No need for photoshop. 👍
Will Cable 3 years ago
I tried turning on a 'beauty' filter once....it suggested a paper bag over my head might help
Wim Cossement 3 years ago
A lot of Instagrammers need to get some professional psychological help. Or just die, that would even be better! ;-)
Sarcastic Safeena 3 years ago
Instead of shaming them, why don't people shame the social standards which make them insecure ?
Wendy Chenoweth 3 years ago
What's the point of these? Why don't people just post a drawing instead.
Truth Monster 3 years ago
Well, I for one, am glad this article featured men AND women. Too many of these "look at the freak show" articles feature women exclusively and it seems rather sexist. So bravo on the male inclusion.
Si 3 years ago
A couple of men. But they’re just there to avoid the accusation of sexism.
Load More Replies...
Pat Tamarin 3 years ago
I wonder if some of these people started with only slightly distorted pictures, then got more distorted over time. "See how much skinnier I'm am?"
Thorfin Wolfsbane 3 years ago
I'm starting to think all the nightmares I had as a child were really scary premonitions for the modern digital world.
Laura is The bombdigity 3 years ago
Some dude once photoshopped his head onto one of my underwear photos from a shoot 🤣🤣🤣🤣
A falz 3 years ago
Everybody is beautiful just as they are. Makeup and styling fine. But if you have to photoshop yourself to what you think beautiful is then youve been given the wrong body image. Quite trying to look like the kardashians. Thats not beauty. Theyve had tons of plastic surgery professional makeup artists and stylist. Even chrissy tiegan looks were too much but since having her children shes finally starting to let her true self show. If somebody doesnt like the true you they are the problem. Got enough grief from my mim about wearing makeup out because her friends might see me. She finally git the hint after many years that if they dont like the way i look without makeup then they dont like the true me. Be yourself and quit letting a software decide what looks beautiful because its looks horribly fake and can see all the editing youve done.
Si 3 years ago (edited)
Do not forget you are discussing real people in these comments, in front of the world. In many of them, faces are visible and recognisable, some of them will be BP readers, none of them gave consent. Check yourselves.
Norart 3 years ago
Sorry Si, if you put your garbage on social media it is fair game in the court of public opinion as evidence.
Load More Replies... Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago (edited)
Anyone living in reality? Plastic surgery actually corrects and changes your face or body, not like some toy or game on Instagram where you can just lie about how you look.
Load More Replies...
Lauren Caswell 3 years ago
No it's meant to be bad quality Photoshop, as in obviously fake
Load More Replies...
Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago
You’re the weird one trying to “flame” people for this. You’re probably 40+ talking like that. Yes these people are wrong but still, get a life.
Load More Replies...
Becky Moore 3 years ago
The title I can see says there's only 40 pictures?
Load More Replies... Jayne Kyra 3 years ago
While many of these are funny or just ridiculous, it makes me wonder how many of these people suffer from Body Dysmorphia.
Ryan Deschanel 3 years ago
Body dysmorphia is a real thing, a very serious thing, but it is too often used as a cynical way to underestimate the pain of living which ugly people feel because of the way society treats them and forces them into perpetual shame and loneliness.
Load More Replies... B 3 years ago
I've always wondered why people want to look plastic. I mean, at some point they'll be exposed, or will meet someone who has seen the photos and who will be like, 'owait, that's not really how you look.' Then I realised that some of these fakers have made a lot of money from looking plastic. So there are people out there who enjoy looking at heavily edited photos. Makes me wonder which lot - the posers or the viewers - are the saddest.
J Rob 3 years ago
"B" I agree with you. I wounder how in the world some of these pictures can be perceived by their creators as faltering. The extent of the distortion is beyond tangible comprehension. It leaves me gobsmacked!
Load More Replies... MB 3 years ago
Just about all of them would look great without all the editing. It’s scary and sad that they feel the need to do this.
Yort 3 years ago
At the very least, I don’t think any of them could look WORSE than the edited version.
Load More Replies... Sophia Graubart 3 years ago
Moral of the post: you are not a Barbie doll. Do not make yourself into a Barbie doll
A C 3 years ago
This is so sad. Why do we continue to believe these obnoxious "beauty" standards ....
Si 3 years ago
Because the media is a multi trillion dollar behemoth. And these girls and women are doing their individual best in the face of it.
Load More Replies... Doggo Froggo 3 years ago
It's sad how many people feel as though their true selves are not enough.
Dogfan4life 3 years ago
Why do people do this? I have recently done an assignment on social media, and this was one of the main (bad) reasons about social media and social media apps. Imagine being these people who really looked nice in real life...but make a fake image online. Please don't do this! You are beautiful just the way you are! And if you do post photos of the real you....good job! 💕
Rannveig Ess 3 years ago
My 10 year old neighbor asked me why these platforms don't tag all these photos with some text that they are Photoshopped or what filters were used. She said they tag articles or opinion pieces with warnings that it's not "factual" or outright remove and ban people so why aren't these apparently emotionally ill people treated in a way that frowns upon all this because it's harmful or "people are lying and need help" Out of the mouth of babes...
Becky Moore 3 years ago
If magazines adverts for mascaras now have to tell you when the eyelashes are photoshopped then I hope it's only a matter of time, but I'm not sure how it can even be monitored.
Load More Replies... angie but who cares 3 years ago
we shame plastic surgery and editing so witch one do you want because if people aren't getting plastic surgery there gonna edit if they can't edit there gonna get plastic surgery come on
Rainbow Panda 3 years ago
No offense, but the one that isn’t photoshopped looks so much better. 📷
Roisin Reid 3 years ago
I think there is probably a lot of body dysmorphia at play here. I think these people are victims. I think we have had tv adverts and magazines doing this for years to profit from from people feeling inadequate. We need photo shop bans for beauty products.
cah 3 years ago
It's really sad that people are so insecure that they think they have to change the way they look.
Si 3 years ago
It’s really sad that women are put under such scrutiny by society.
Load More Replies... Si 3 years ago
Because there are so many bitchy judgmental people on the internet. This thread being a case in point.
Load More Replies... Jonah Denny-Mayo 3 years ago
I feel like most of the people here would genuinely be good looking with out all the editing the pics.
Demon Child 3 years ago
See they never get caught cus they look like completely different people :/
Dre Mosley 3 years ago
Too many people are using Photoshop without having the skill to make something at least convincing at first glance.
Al Jones 3 years ago
A lot of these are so out there, that I don't understand how anyone can look at these pictures, think "oh great!" and post these. But even if they could somehow do that, what saying to people (or themselves)? That they're not beautiful enough show themselves without completely changing what they look like? That others should try to look like a heavily edited version of reality? I can't really say I blame the people on the pics - they are just a reflection of the society they - and we - live in. I think all of us, particularly parents and educators, need to ask ourselves what we can do to stop this.... Rant over!
Elaina Gatch 3 years ago
Just be yourself. All of these people are wonderful and beautiful. No need for photoshop. 👍
Will Cable 3 years ago
I tried turning on a 'beauty' filter once....it suggested a paper bag over my head might help
Wim Cossement 3 years ago
A lot of Instagrammers need to get some professional psychological help. Or just die, that would even be better! ;-)
Sarcastic Safeena 3 years ago
Instead of shaming them, why don't people shame the social standards which make them insecure ?
Wendy Chenoweth 3 years ago
What's the point of these? Why don't people just post a drawing instead.
Truth Monster 3 years ago
Well, I for one, am glad this article featured men AND women. Too many of these "look at the freak show" articles feature women exclusively and it seems rather sexist. So bravo on the male inclusion.
Si 3 years ago
A couple of men. But they’re just there to avoid the accusation of sexism.
Load More Replies... Pat Tamarin 3 years ago
I wonder if some of these people started with only slightly distorted pictures, then got more distorted over time. "See how much skinnier I'm am?"
Thorfin Wolfsbane 3 years ago
I'm starting to think all the nightmares I had as a child were really scary premonitions for the modern digital world.
Laura is The bombdigity 3 years ago
Some dude once photoshopped his head onto one of my underwear photos from a shoot 🤣🤣🤣🤣
A falz 3 years ago
Everybody is beautiful just as they are. Makeup and styling fine. But if you have to photoshop yourself to what you think beautiful is then youve been given the wrong body image. Quite trying to look like the kardashians. Thats not beauty. Theyve had tons of plastic surgery professional makeup artists and stylist. Even chrissy tiegan looks were too much but since having her children shes finally starting to let her true self show. If somebody doesnt like the true you they are the problem. Got enough grief from my mim about wearing makeup out because her friends might see me. She finally git the hint after many years that if they dont like the way i look without makeup then they dont like the true me. Be yourself and quit letting a software decide what looks beautiful because its looks horribly fake and can see all the editing youve done.
Si 3 years ago (edited)
Do not forget you are discussing real people in these comments, in front of the world. In many of them, faces are visible and recognisable, some of them will be BP readers, none of them gave consent. Check yourselves.
Norart 3 years ago
Sorry Si, if you put your garbage on social media it is fair game in the court of public opinion as evidence.
Load More Replies... Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago (edited)
Anyone living in reality? Plastic surgery actually corrects and changes your face or body, not like some toy or game on Instagram where you can just lie about how you look.
Load More Replies... Lauren Caswell 3 years ago
No it's meant to be bad quality Photoshop, as in obviously fake
Load More Replies... Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago
You’re the weird one trying to “flame” people for this. You’re probably 40+ talking like that. Yes these people are wrong but still, get a life.
Load More Replies... Becky Moore 3 years ago
The title I can see says there's only 40 pictures?
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