At this point, Instagram looks like an alternate universe. A place governed by its own laws. A place, where the ultimate creator is photo editing software.
In fact, it’s so full of fake influencers, there’s even a subreddit dedicated to calling them out, r/InstagramReality. “Social media is a breeding ground for Facetune and Photoshop,” the online community writes on its page. “It’s unbelievable how some people get away with it while others don’t!”
These Internet detectives are on the quest to expose those who have taken it too far: guys who make their biceps so big, they warp the space-time continuum, women with skin so smooth, you can’t tell where they chin ends and their necks begin, they’re all here.
When you’re done scrolling, check out our earlier articles on the subreddit here, here, and here.
#1 I’m Calling Emergency Services. This Injury Is Serious
#2 I’m Sensing A Filter
#3 Holy Hand Difference, Batman
In an earlier piece on r/InstagramReality, We spoke to Siobhan Ward, a primary therapist at Life Works, a rehabilitation center that provides treatment for addictions and eating disorders, about the scope of social media addiction in the United Kingdom.
“If you broke ‘social media addiction’ down into categories, it would encompass other process or behavioral addictions such as porn and gambling, as well as eating disorders, especially predominant with the likes of Instagram,” Ward explained. “It may be that the addiction is not with the social media itself, but the social media has become a tool of other addictions.”
The therapist thinks people can’t stop faking and editing their Instagram photos (even when it’s an obvious lie) because of brain chemistry. “Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that comes into play with the addict — it is what tells us that we enjoy something and therefore need to do it again as it gives us pleasure.”
“If the person is taking a lot of selfies that have to be ‘perfect’, then maybe they are not addicts. Instead, this could be a sign of a possible narcissistic personality disorder. Also, if someone is posting pictures to get as many likes as possible, they may not be getting certain needs met in their life. They may not have the love, support, or even safety that they need now or that they needed when they grew up and therefore have had to find another way to fill that hole,” Ward said.
#4 Jeebs
#5 Internal Organs? Never Heard Of ‘Em
#6 She Could Be An Olympic Swimmer With Those Flippers!
Interestingly, being reminded that social media is fake can also ‘fill’ us. In a 2019 study, researchers decided to investigate the effect ‘Instagram vs. Reality’ pictures (the ones containing side-by-side photographs of the same woman, one an idealized depiction and the other a more natural depiction) have on body image.
They got together 305 women aged between 18 and 30 years, the largest demographic group of Instagram users. The sample had a mean age of 25.34 years, and their mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.98, indicating a slightly overweight sample. The majority of participants identified as Caucasian (69.2%), followed by Latino/Hispanic (11.8%), African American (10.2%), Asian (6.6%), Native American (0.3%), and ‘other’ (2.0%). The participants were randomly assigned to view one of three sets of Instagram images over a period of time: ‘Instagram vs. reality” images, the ‘ideal’ side alone, or the ‘real’ side alone.
#7 You Have Got To Be Kidding Me
#8 She Forgot The Reflection In The Glass
#9 No Face Texture
“[The study found that] viewing the ‘Instagram vs. reality’ and real images resulted in decreased body dissatisfaction relative to the ideal images,” the researchers wrote. “Furthermore, the detrimental effects of appearance comparison were much less marked for the ‘Instagram vs. reality’ and real images than for the ideal images. It was concluded that ‘Instagram vs. reality’ and real posts have the potential to bolster women’s body satisfaction, but more research is needed to assess their longer-term impact.”
Siobhan Ward said that we need to become aware of what we believe we are getting from the Internet in order to start resisting its temptation. “By understanding why [we] turn to the Internet, [we] can start to think about healthier ways to meet these needs.”
#10 Nearly Had A Heart Attack When I Opened Tinder This Morning
#11 I Was Shopping Online When I Saw This Dress… And Those Shoulders…
#12 Faking Swimming With Sharks Is A Thing Now I Guess, By Blatantly Stealing A Background Image From The Internet
#13 I’m Speechless
#14 Ok These Are Getting Ridiculous…
#15 That Is One Giant Hand
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#16 I Can’t Decide If This Is A Joke Or Someone Actually Thinks This Is Believable…
#17 Seems Legit (It’s A Real Profile From Facebook)
#18 Found In The Wild – Why Would Anyone Even Post This?
#19 Chin To Neck Transition?
#20 Found On Amazon Reviews
#21 Banana Hand
#22 Toy Story 4
#23 Chin, Meet Photoshop
#24 I Can’t Look Away… The Eyes, The Teeth… So Bright. The Mouth… So Large
#25 This Is Not How Real Hair Looks Like Bro
#26 Forgot To Photoshop The Other Boob
#27 Nice T-Rex Arm
#28 Same Girl, 10 Year Difference (In Photoshop Skills)
#29 Ahh, They Definitely Look Alike Alright
“Anyone think my mom and I look alike!? I’m 22 she’s 44!”
#30 Was Reading An Article About Photoshop Fails On Instagram. This Was One Of The Examples
#31 I Just… Can’t Even Think Of A Title For This
#32 More Abuse Of The “Body Positivity” Hashtag
#33 Oh Honey No…
#34 Reality-Breaking Hips
#35 Are Beagles Know For Not Casting Shadows?
#36 Pores? I Don’t Even Need A Nose
#37 When Your Neck Is Thicker Than Your Waist
#38 Serbian Celebrities Are Really Something Else. She’s 58
#39 I Thought The Post Was A Joke But She Was Dead Serious
#40 Filters…
#41 Instagram Post V A Live TV Appearance – Both Taken On The Same Day. She Doesn’t Even Look Like The Same Person
#42 How Is This Credible?
#43 One Word. Cleavage
#44 Just A Reminder, None Of Us Are Perfect And Social Media Can Be Such A Illusion
#45 This Just Looks Wrong I Dont Know Where To Start
#46 Swears She Doesn’t Edit Her Photos And Has Never Had Plastic Surgery. Told Our Gaming Friends She Wears Corsets Not Even Corsets Can Make This Look Real…
#47 Her Instagram Selfies vs. Live TV News Story
#48 Took It A Bit Too Far With The Waist
#49 Now Which One Might Have Uploaded This?
#50 Oof
#51 His Hand Is Bigger Than His Head…
#52 Found On Instagram…. There’s A Lot Going On In This Pic! Is This Edited In Anyway? This Girls Account Is Crazy!
#53 An Influencer With 3,5 Million Followers Stole A Pic From Another Smaller Influencer And Photoshopped Herself Into The Pic. Check The Second Pic. Looks Like She Is A Serial Offender. When People Call Her Out And Ask To Give The Credit To The Original Owner, She Just Blocks Them
#54 She Is 71 Years Old…
#55 I Just Don’t See The Point
#56 Instagram (2021) vs. In Person (2019). The Heavy Facetune Makes Her Unrecognizable. She’s 62
#57 Video vs. Photo…
#58 Well, Have You?
#59 Using The Warp Tool To Curl Your Hair Saves Time
#60 On An Account Advertising Their Makeup And Hair Skills
#61 Why Are Her Feet So Big!?!!?
#62 She Has To Know This Does Not Look Realistic…
#63 When Your Head Is Smaller Than One Of Your Two Boobs
#64 Head Wide Body
#65 What In The World…?
#66 Just A Bit Extreme Innit
#67 Ma’am I Think You May Need A Carpenter
#68 Found One In The Wild, All Her Pictures Had Her Second Chin Removed Like That
#69 Lipstick That’ll Smooth Out Your Lip Wrinkles
#70 Those Legs, Wow!
#71 Instagram vs. Paparazzi
#72 Found This In The Wild… Are 3,365 People Really Believing That She Looks Like This?! Every One Of Her Pictures Looks Like This!
#73 What, Your Elbow Isn’t A Perfectly Sharp Right Angle?
#74 How, How!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
#75 One Ig Post Apart – Girl Please
#76 Poor Grandpa
#77 Looks Like A Completely Different Person
#78 I Don’t Even Know How She Felt This Was Okay To Post
#79 She Posted Both Of These Pictures To Her Instagram About A Year Apart…
#80 Whose Body Did You Paste Your Face On…?
#81 Shrunken Head, Must Be Dehydration?
#82 I Checked, It’s Not Satire
#83 When Your Floor Is Just As Wavy As Your Fireplace
#84 Aliexpress Is A Goldmine