In today’s society, how many people has never ever used Photoshop or seen a photoshoped picture? That’s a rhetoric question. I believe that people who has access to any media has at least seen a photoshoped picture, whether he or she awares of it or now.

Here’s a video you should watch. But I think most people might have seen it before.

What are the general thoughts after watching the video? I believe there are many.

Photoshop has distorted our perception of beauty, mostly through the media.  Though, it is unavoidable that people will be influenced by media’s view of beauty. However, is it ethical for businesses to use this perception to attract consumers’ attention in order to expand into a larger market? To certain degree, yes, since advertisements often focus on grabbing our attention with dazzling features. However, on the other hand, shouldn’t we consider their actions as an act of deception? Not all products are effective as shown in an advertisement. For example, a cosmetic ad may beautify its spokesperson, but certainly not all its customers. Not to mention that sometimes the promoted product may actually endanger the customer. The best example for this would be a plastic surgery advertisement. No matter how beautiful it can make a person look like, there’s always a risk behind it. However, not all plastic surgeons will genuinely tell you that in case of unsuccessful surgery procedure, there will be risk of distortion or even death.

What I’m trying to say here is not that business should stop using photoshop to make their products or services more attractive and be ethical. My point is that it’s always up to a consumer whether a product or service is worth spending for or not. And whether an advertisement is ethical or not will also be dependent on the consumer’s opinions.