This Online Group Calls Out Brutal Instagram Vs. Reality Fails, Here Are 40 Of Them (New Pics)
Interview With ExpertWhile photo editing has been around for decades, for the first time in history so many people access these powerful digital tools to change their images. And, in such a very human manner, they tend to use these tools to alter their pictures beyond all recognition.
We’ve gathered some examples from across the internet of people who really got carried away with photo editing tools and still posted themselves online. We also got in touch with Dr. Cortney S. Warren, PhD, ABPP, a clinical psychologist and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry to learn more. So get comfortable as you scroll through, prepare to raise one, if not two eyebrows, upvote the most questionable examples and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.
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“Fashion Model” With 225k Followers. The Second Picture Is His Real Face
If he ever went missing and they posted the 1st picture he's screwed because they would never find him, ever
They would but it would be on the cover of a trashy romance novel.
Load More Replies...Thing is, he’s a good-looking guy naturally. Why would he ever want to look like some AI version of a romance novel cover? Those guys aren’t really ll that attractive anyway. Give me a man who looks like a real person and is a real mensch, and he will be the most attractive man in the world to me.
Give me a man who make me lol and fixes stuff! Looks are nothing!
Load More Replies...OK, so he's not really "model" material, but he looks like a perfectly good computer science lecturer.
Why change to ridiculous look? He's cute anyway. Hey bro, you reading this? Go with natural! 😁👌
Not even the same species. I *would* believe guy 2 is guy 1's accountant.
"Influencer" Posted These Asking Only For Positivity On Her Crazy Photoshop
Whenever people have to demand "positivity only" you know there's nothing positive going on with them and that they are trying to manipulate an unhealthy mindset on their audience.
There’s nothing wrong with the real photo, it’s just an unflattering angle. The first one is cartoonish
I have to constantly remind my husband NOT to take pictures of people from below. It’s so unflattering.
Load More Replies...that picture makes it look like the scene from the Truman Show where he is trying to recreate the woman's face by using pieces torn out of magazines.
The photoshop pics look obviously fake to me, cartoon looking features no one has irl without alot of make up. If you need that amount of makeup to look cute, you aren't cute
His Jawline Is Definitely 100% Real, No Editing
It's terrifying that he thinks he's beautiful on the edited pic. He looks like a starving alien.
I was thinking preying mantis, but alien works
Load More Replies...That's terrifying. If I saw the left in real life I would runaway screaming that Slenderman is real.
Who in their right mind would want to look like the 1st picture, he's a good weight and good looking in the real picture
Exactly. Straight out of "close encounters of the third kind".
Load More Replies...Bored Panda got in touch with Dr. Cortney S. Warren, PhD, ABPP, a Harvard-trained, California-based board-certified clinical psychologist and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the UNLV School of Medicine to learn more about body image issues. First of all, we wanted to hear her thoughts on the difference between editing photos for “fun” and doing so out of a deeper need for approval or validation.
“A person’s motivation for editing a photo for social media can influence the psychological experience of viewing, posting, and getting feedback about an image. For example, sometimes people play around with photo editing for fun—to be silly, see what they look like with different makeup, or even project what they may look like in the future.”
That Small Head Trend
Maybe someone told him "yes, you can add mass to your body with photoshop, but dont let it go to your head" - and he took it literally?
If you can get the proportions to scale right t might actually work. it's probably easier to shrink the head than increase the rest of the body.
Load More Replies...Sadly in some Asian cultures like China and South Korea,small heads are seen as attractive. That's why you can see many videos of Chinese street fashion ok YouTube where people are photoshopped to have crazy proportions. It's sad that people don't realize how insane it looks
Influencer’s Posts vs. Tagged
Serious question, do you know anyone guy or girl that actually thinks lip fillers like that look good? I really don’t understand why anyone would want to look like that.
I've never met another guy who thinks they are attractive.
Load More Replies...I've got a fish that sucks the algae off the rocks in my fish tank that has lips like that.
She looks like the bar tender step sister in shrek 😂 I feel they chose they worst real picture of her.
This Popped Up On TikTok. The Second Picture Is What She Actually Looks Like
I love how they keep pointing out the real picture in the title. As if...
Well, I know I needed help to tell the difference! /j
Load More Replies...She has a pink blouse on in the right picture.
Load More Replies...The only picture I've seen so far where the face was even remotely like the original is the man with the small head.
“If they are doing that on a photo of themselves (or a photo of someone else with that person’s permission), it may be a fun experience that doesn’t influence their own body image in a negative way. However, often people use photo editing because of a sometimes unconscious insecurity about how they look.”
The Pictures Were Taken On The Same Day
I swear the person on the right must be Tara Reid’s cousin and party mate.
When You Preach Body Positivity And Then Chop Your Waist Into Oblivion
Even the 2nd photo has been messed with. It's all blurry. Probably built like an HGV.
A Guy From My Hometown, Bet You Wont Be Able To Guess Which Photo Is The Tagged (And Subsequently Untagged) One
The nose looks funny on the right one, but the left is just… uncanny. What is it? It looks asymmetrical.
I think the one on the right looks weird because of how his mustache is framing it
Load More Replies...He needs to instruct the AI to brush over the neck rings as well, if he wants the "real" Chad look. 🤦
Yeah, I'm fairly certain human faces are not meant to have corners…
Load More Replies...“For example, if someone is editing a photo because they only want to show an idealized image of themselves (for example, they want to look “perfect”) or are looking for “likes” and positive feedback from others, the editing may be an ineffective or even harmful process. For example, if someone is posting an edited image of themselves in hopes of feeling more beautiful, attractive, or wanted but they don’t get enough likes or positive comments, they may feel worse after posting the image more than before,” she shared.
"Everybody Tells Me I'm The Same, Or Even Better In Real Life"
You're the reason people, especially women, feel the need to alter themselves and their photos to fit whack a*s beauty standards in the first place. Do better.
Load More Replies...If you believe you are even better in real life then why edit your pictures
No, she claims other people tell her that. Even if that's true, she is likely still very insecure about how she looks, and doesn't actually believe what they tell her.
Load More Replies...Is there a reason why you have to listen to "everybody" in order to be reassured that you're ok?
Insecurity born of years of other people's rude comments, put-downs, and mind games.
Load More Replies...Honestly, here it could just be angle, lighting and facial expression
Posted vs. Tagged. She Actually Looks Really Good For 72 Y/O But Can’t Help Herself With The Photoshop
You must not have seen her picture from the Met Gala-hideous
Load More Replies...IRL, except for being very, very thin, she looks pretty much her age. I've found as I age that you can choose (as if you have any control over these things) you can either be thin and saggy or plump and lumpy. Yay!
She does look good! And I am not even mad about this PS. She did not go crazy with her lashes or jawline or anything. She still looks like herself
So I use to be like everyone else and bash these photo edits. BUT now I’m editing photos. Not for other people to think that’s what I look like but for me to see myself in photos the way I see myself in my head. Idgaf what other people think I look like 😂 and if you knew me you’d agree 😁 I just want to see pictures of myself that match my imagination of what I look like. Plus, what my bathroom mirror tells me I look like vs my iPhone are TWO completely different beings 🤣
Posted On Insta vs. Tagged At Festival
Does she think she actually looks like the edited one? Psychological issues?
she's lovely without the editing. great hair, great cheekbones, nice skin.
She is perfectly lovely IRL. Why does she need to make herself look so fake? :(
Pretty sure she can do them up,there is enough fabric and she isnt even that big. It's kind of trendy nowadays go wear your jeans like that with boy shorts.
Load More Replies...So we wanted to know if social comparison on platforms like Instagram and TikTok played a role. “Many of the idealized images that are presented on social media platforms are highly edited. These can influence a user's body image negatively through a social comparison process.”
Social Media vs. Real Life
That's because you're not mentally 12 years old
Load More Replies...I'll be so glad when those ridiculous eyebrows go out of fashion.
There's no cr ap. It's all photo editing. She couldn't look like that if she tried.
Load More Replies...Not quite enough to fly, but if she flutters those lashes she'll tip over backward.
Load More Replies...You're a beautiful young person as you are. If you want to play around with editing change the color of the outfit, or add a crown, or tattoos...
Posting A Fake Version Of Yourself On Facebook And The Real One On TikTok
Wouldn't it make these people far, far more disappointed and frustrated with their appearance by faking it like this, and then having to live with the reality? Jeez, let it go!
I played with a filter on a pic of myself once. It was fun at first, but all it really did was make all the real pics of me look terrible.
Fitness Influencer Posted vs. Tagged
Good grief. Her real body is awesome. It is mind boggling why she would think she needed to create such a ridiculously altered photo to post
She looks waaay better IRL, it is crazy that she borked her abs so bad in PS, it looks awesome in the original!
Right? It looks too flat in the first one, like it's a paper cut-out rather than a human torso.
Load More Replies...Her real body is amazing, why would she want to edit her body to look out of shape
She would actually inspire more people with her real body than that hideously altered one.
The edited version is sooooo gross. God she looks FINE in her natural state!
“As humans, we naturally tend to compare ourselves to others to determine how we measure up in our community and culture. When people look at idealized, edited images of peers, friends, and celebrities, they are likely to deem themselves as falling short or not meeting cultural expectations. This can make people feel more dissatisfied with their own physical appearance. For example, a recent meta-analysis of 83 studies found that higher social media use was positively associated with body image concerns and eating disorder symptoms.”
Her Own Instagram vs. Tagged Photo... It Was Untagged Real Quick
Legit prefer the real version, she is actually handsome IRL (judging by this pic, that is).
If she didn't do the lipfillers she would be very pretty
Load More Replies...On the left she looks like a deer about to be hit by a car. On the right she looks like she has an interesting story to tell.
You can literally see where the plastic surgeon attached the stitches under the skin to lift her brows!
One Of The Biggest Influencers In My Country, Literally Hundreds Of Thousands Of Little Girls Idolize Her Unnatural Body
People are forgetting what real bodies look like. Little imperfections that we used to overlook are now deal breakers, so no one is happy anymore with what they got. We can still change our perception and move away from those plasticky models, but takes some conscious effort.
Load More Replies...I despise people like that because they make young girls feeling insecure about themselves.
She looks like an absolute amazon in the second pic. Robert Crumb would love her legs, and so do I. The first pic isn't nearly as interesting.
She could dress her natural body to look much better than she is doing!
I don't care if you're skinny or fat, wear a bathing suit that covers your butt and b***s people!
I rather like the Brazilian approach where everyone: the fit, fat, young and old go out in as little as possible and let it all hang out. The beach is the place to show some skin if you're gonna do it anywhere.
Load More Replies...Posted Versus Tagged. I Struggled To Believe These Were The Same People
I have blue eyes and have always wanted brown!!
Load More Replies...When people say they wore a tank top to bed and one of their t!tties is in the kitchen, making waffles. This. This is the other t!tty, climbing up that man's chest.
That is the funniest saying I've ever heard, and even better i know exactly what you're talking about 🤣
Load More Replies...She is perfectly fine irl but i want to slap a green cap on him and call him Santa's Elf
They are an attractive couple in real life! Why the distorted image! Makes no sense!
So we also wanted to know if there are specific parts of the population that are more “pressured” into presenting a certain body image. “In general, I think people feel pressure to present themselves in the best way possible. That isn’t inherently bad—it makes sense that most of us want to show an image of ourselves that we think looks good.”
A Girl On Fb Posted This Guy Who Catfished Her
The guy looks alright and I am sure if he showed his real self he would have gotten some dates. It is a shame people feel they have to lie.
Ok, I can’t defend that or find any saving features nor tips for getting closer without loosing weight.
No Words
You cannot tell me you think the first one looks like a real human, lol, looks like bad cgi, which I suppose it is
Load More Replies...I feel really bad for these girls, I think she's super pretty but she doesn't think she is. Still wants to be someone else.
Don't tell a woman to smile. "You'd be so pretty if you smiled more." Just no, no.
Load More Replies...Instagram vs. Twitch Livestream
Honestly all these people look fine in real life. The editing is just too much.
“For the most part, celebrities, actors, models, and other influencers post highly idealized images of themselves looking successful, happy, and physically attractive. But, it is important to remember that the images are NOT representative or realistic. In addition, social pressure to be “good looking” can be particularly problematic because it sets many people up to be chronically dissatisfied with how they look.”
Posted vs. Tagged
When they do this extreme editing they make themselves look so unattractive in real life. Even if they look just fine....
What do they think people are going to think if they meet them in real life? Do they not think about that or they just don't care?
Again, this is mainly photography and make up. It does have a smoothing filter but the only real adjustment us her nose.
Photoshopping vs. Real Life
She would be scary if she looked like that.. Her eyes too big for her face, her face too tiny for her neck
What She Posted vs. What The Clinician Posted
I'm all for photoshopping out a blinked eye or random person in the back. But who do you think you're fooling with this? People will see you in real life
Horrible makeup in both pics. And what kind of injection is that d**n fool getting?
I cannot imagine what kind of backache you will have carrying around those watermelons!
Unfortunately I have them for real. Can't afford surgery on 46G. And yes, back always hurts.
Load More Replies...“Furthermore, during some developmental phases—especially through adolescence when most teens care about their peers, are often interacting with social media, and want to belong to a similarly-aged group—it can lead to thin-ideal internalization and eating pathology.”
This Instagram "Influencer"
If you see you look better in different hair colour in filter then why don’t you change it in real life?!
Because bleaching hair will ruin the hair
Load More Replies...See now here I could understand someone saying this was witchcraft.
why does nobody create the Über-Influencer using AI to kick all the wanna-bees bùtt??
Photo Posted On Her Instagram vs. Interview
Angelina from Jersey Shore, looks nothing like the 1st pic in real life as you can clearly see, she's good looking in real life she doesn't need all the filters
This Local Influencer Insists On Only "Lightly" Editing Her Instagram Pictures. She Also Continues To Make TV Apperances That Really Don't Help Her Case
Aside from the fillers and eyebrows, she actually looks nice in her real photo.
Haha I know who you’re talking about. Was her name Rachel? I can’t remember it’s been so long. 🤦🏼♀️ and his name was Clint ?
Load More Replies...I think the filtered one still resembles her, just a very glammed up version.
If nobody had said anything I'd have thought these two were brother and sister.
Lighting, skin tone of makeup, contouring, lip shade and hair volume. You can’t help wrinkles get that in real life for a photo that will be very close to the fake one.
“According to Backlinco.com, over 60% of the world's population uses social media with 5.24 billion active users. As people are exposed to idealized images in social media outlets, recognizing that they are often edited to represent an unattainable ideal that can have damaging effects on body image is important to prevention of eating pathology.” If you want to learn more, you should also check out her books Letting Go of Your Ex and Lies We Tell Ourselves: The Psychology of Self-Deception.
Social Media vs. Tagged. This Popular Chick In Discord Gaming Communities Really Warps Her Head/Chin/Neck Smaller To Get Bigger Chest
Looks better in the real picture!💯… These false beauty standards make too many women question their looks when the shouldn’t need to?🙈
More media toxicity/whitewashing of native features. Her real face is beautiful
Posted vs. Tagged
That sort of comment is exactly why people alter their real photos ... seems you are part of the problem.
Load More Replies...tori spelling cant get enough plastic surgery or photoshop to not look ugly.
No idea who the other one is but I've always thought Tori was ugly. Before anybody gets mad NO I'm not pretty and never was.
Instagram vs. Youtube Video
Fakey, fakey, fake, fake. Ugly inside and out. Well, at least his teeth are pretty.
You mean you don't have a full face of airbrushed makeup straight from the shower?
Why Do People Do This?
Her head is warped. Obviously an alien who is not familiar with human anatomy.
She And Her Friend Showed Their Natural Selves In A TikTok Video And Everyone Is Praising Them For Being Real. But All Her Instagram Posts Still Look Like This
Yeah, let's praise people for "being so brave" and removing their makeup and filters. That makes sense.
Praising people for showing the truth - THIS is where we are in 2025?????? SMDH
All Her Pics Are Like This... Thats The Only Tagged Picture With No Filters, She Obviously Forgot To Delete It
If all the pictures are filtered, someone who never met them asks for a meeting and saw the them nothing like the photos posted ? What would be the reactions on both ends 🤔🤔🤔
Yes, I imagine two of these entries meeting on Tinder, deciding to meet in real life, and not finding each other in the bar/café/restaurant they've chosen for their first date. They just wait and wait, glancing at the door everytime it opens, maybe they're even unknowingly sitting next to each other. Then believing the other one just didn't show up, and arguing about it through texts and DMs. "I WAS there, at the bar waiting, YOU bailed!"
Load More Replies...She's a good looking girl without the stupid changes. Why even bother?!
Everyone apparently wants the face of this super generic woman on the left. I used to think it was pretty but now I'm getting desensitized.
2 UK Influencers Got Posted Unfiltered By A Modeling Agency
The bottom right photos looks like the heater is malfunctioning inside a Madame Tussauds.
They're just so fake. Before/after pics aren't really much difference, just they're so fake and ugly with caterpillar mascara and puffy lips
Gotta make the nose as small as possible while using a poster sharpie for the eyes
Honestly these girls aren't super far off from their pics. Good for them if they love themselves.
All four are horrifying, but the bottom two look like undercover federal agents.
Bless Wikipedia For Keeping It Real
yes, girl, you are older now. So am I. Yet you still look good!
Load More Replies...Really? Make fun of big foreheads and now little ones ? Jesus
Load More Replies...Come On Bruh
That's what I was just wondering. This looks like Deavan from 90 day fiance. She married the Korean guy, Jihoon.
Load More Replies...One is taken with professional lighting, photography, and makeup? God, whoever creates these sorts of lists is just as bad as the women who pretend to be something they’re not. A lot of these are skin texture filters and they just have different expressions on their faces.
The lips don't match and I have no idea why she thought her own weren't pretty. I personally don't care for the ultra puffy lips, but that me.
Load More Replies...Her Instagram Post vs. Tagged One
What's with the top statement. I have no t!ts but I shall make them bigger with Photoshop
After an embarassingly long stretch of searching, it finally dawned on me that by "top statement" you do not mean the most popular comment in the thread. I am SUCH a numpty sometimes hahah
Load More Replies...Gosh... that jawline. You'd swear she turned her skull upside down to get that chin in the edited picy
Odd that she explicitly named her chest which is unaltered, but said nothing about the midriff, which is DRAMATICALLY thinner. Most impressive is the reversible head though, that I'd like to watch her do live.
Great Instagram Tactics
Not sure why Megalodon Meg was downvoted. Women are people, not commodities to be rated. I'm guessing you are female though, which makes it a little less problematic.
Load More Replies...In their defense, this can totally be me starting my day v/s me ending my day after a few meals
Yup, and the pose can make a big difference too.
Load More Replies...At least here, I can understand how a little sucking in of the stomach and posture change can make a difference. It doesn't look like she tried to change her leg/butt/b**b size so this one deserves a pass compared to the rest.
She looks like shes about to sleep with her high school age sons friends
Maxim Covergirl “Finalist” I Finally Saw One In Real Life. Video vs. Posted Photo. Same Day
Angles and lighting mixed with movement and also hair in that one position that makes it look weird.
Load More Replies...They say the camera adds ten pounds, but Photoshop adds two or three cup sizes apparently...I wonder if people would notice if my photos suddenly suggest I have a foot-long dong...
At a glance it looks like some sort of seam or fold...
Load More Replies...Okay the gut is obviously fake, but this just looks like she's squeezing the girls for a cleavage shot. Granted the pic on the right is reversed and the left isn't, but otherwise... fine, no?
I have b***s. Trust me, you can't squeeze this much volume out of the breasts she has.
Load More Replies...What, you don't notice add 3 cup sizes and lost 6" to waist?
Load More Replies...These are ridiculous -- but I rather enjoy seeing them. The million-dollar question, though: do their thousands of followers, who believe the photoshopped versions, see these, too? (I hope so. Pathetic.)
What’s with the eyebrows?? The older you get you just realise every ‘look ‘ a trend. It was being a size zero 25 yrs ago. Now it’s having a massive b*m, fish lips . What’ll it be in 10 yrs time. People need to stop altering their bodies to fit a passing trend
Just to confirm for y'all, I am every bit as ugly on Instagram as in real life.
Thanks, Harry! Saves me lots of time trying to unfold the true you.
Load More Replies...Why? Just why? Do they think no-one will ever see what they really look like?
Who was that bint who attended an awards show and got absolutely destroyed because she couldn't filter a real life appearance? Why do people do this? Surely they must realise that it actually makes their IRL face look ugly compared? Didn't really want to use the word ugly, but.....
Look, I get wanting to make yourself look better. OK. But it seems like if you have a 'curated' image that you project, you could NEVER meet anyone in real life or the game would be up. I just don't get how some of these 'influencers' can't see how limiting the idea is.
These are ridiculous -- but I rather enjoy seeing them. The million-dollar question, though: do their thousands of followers, who believe the photoshopped versions, see these, too? (I hope so. Pathetic.)
What’s with the eyebrows?? The older you get you just realise every ‘look ‘ a trend. It was being a size zero 25 yrs ago. Now it’s having a massive b*m, fish lips . What’ll it be in 10 yrs time. People need to stop altering their bodies to fit a passing trend
Just to confirm for y'all, I am every bit as ugly on Instagram as in real life.
Thanks, Harry! Saves me lots of time trying to unfold the true you.
Load More Replies...Why? Just why? Do they think no-one will ever see what they really look like?
Who was that bint who attended an awards show and got absolutely destroyed because she couldn't filter a real life appearance? Why do people do this? Surely they must realise that it actually makes their IRL face look ugly compared? Didn't really want to use the word ugly, but.....
Look, I get wanting to make yourself look better. OK. But it seems like if you have a 'curated' image that you project, you could NEVER meet anyone in real life or the game would be up. I just don't get how some of these 'influencers' can't see how limiting the idea is.
