Apps that make people appear slimmer in social media videos are crushing kids’ perception of body image and fuelling eating disorders, charities claim.
Teenagers are being targeted by filters which allow them to edit their moving images, to make their waists look smaller, their limbs longer or their backsides more curvaceous.
The apps boast that they can help users impress their TikTok and Instagram followers, and look like “influencers”.
Fans accused American model Kendall Jenner of using the technology in February, and other celebrities have been suspected of using such apps.
Ex-Emmerdale actress Gemma Oaten, who runs SEED Eating Disorder Support Services, called them “another step in the wrong direction”.
She said: “If these apps are readily available for young people especially – who are developing eating disorders at a rate of knots in the pandemic – we’re seriously failing them.”
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Gemma, who nearly died in a 13-year-battle with anorexia, added: “A lot of kids aren’t seeing what the real world and real bodies are.”
One app, PrettyUp, is advertised as a “teen” app on the Google Play store. It promises: “Retouch your video and get more likes on your favorite social media accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok."
The Video Body Editor app claims: “Only with a few steps, you could easily edit your selfie videos like slimmer waist, longer legs and smooth your skin.”
And Go Sexy – Slimming Body Editor says: “Make your face and body look slim on videos”.
Hannah Lewis, of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation, said such apps could “catalyse someone’s negative body image”.
A report by the Women and Equalities Committee found the prevalence of edited photos is a major driver of negative body image.
Tory MP Caroline Nokes, chair of the inquiry, said video filters do untold damage to self-esteem.
She added: “My biggest fear is that the Online Harms Bill is not going to adequately address things like this which are harmful to young people but not illegal.”
Labour's Bell Ribeiro-Addy also wants legal regulation of social media platforms “to protect young users”.
Fashion buyer Ronnie Malyon, 31, began spending £30 a month on filters five years ago: “It was meant to uplift me but had the opposite effect.”
Ronnie says the apps fuelled his long-term eating disorder, and in lockdown he got anxious about meeting people for real in case he did not match up to his images.
SEED helped him to cut his use of them but he is worried about his young relatives who use the apps.
Mum-of-five Suzanne Samanka, 33, and Tory MP Luke Evans are campaigning for edited posts to be labelled in the same way that sponsored ones must be hashtagged “#ad”.
She added: “Everybody my daughter’s age [16] doesn’t post a picture without a filter or without some sort of edit.”
Kendall, 25, was suspected of using filters after fans noticed her body change size in an Instagram Stories video.
Katie Price has also been suspected of editing snaps.
Her rep said the star uses effects but does not support skinny apps or filters that fuel negative body image or eating disorders.
TikTok said: “We’re focused on safeguarding our community from harmful content and behaviour while supporting an inclusive and body positive environment.”
On Instagram Stories, filters are labelled when one is used and it bans effects that promote cosmetic surgery.
Mental health campaigner Hope Virgo tried three body altering apps to edit a video of herself and was shocked at how easy they are to use.
The 31-year-old is founder of the Dump The Scales campaign, which pushes for improved access to eating disorder support based on factors outside just body mass index.
She tried PrettyUp, Go Sexy – Slimming Body Editor and Video Body Editor – Prettyo.
Hope, of Tooting, South London, said: “I made my legs longer and waist narrower, and smoothed the skin on my face.
“They were scarily easy to use. It’s shocking to think you could take a video on the beach and within a couple of minutes transform what you look like.
“Some features you couldn’t get without paying, and it’s worrying to think of the amount people could end up spending.
“I can see how they could be addictive and how easy it would be to start comparing yourself to others. I found them quite upsetting to use.
“However old and confident you are, it makes you critique yourself and question what you look like.
“These apps don’t take into account that we’re all different shapes and sizes and that’s how it’s supposed to be. They pressure us to morph into one unrealistic body ideal.”
- For eating disorder support visit SEED’s website or contact its helpline: 01482 718130.
