71% of people edit their selfies
And 33% said they edit their lips in pictures before posting
In 2014, Google Analytics divulged that we take around 93 million selfies every day. There is no study to say how many selfies we take in 2020 per day but we know for sure, it’s a lot.
However, taking the selfie is just the first step of social media activity, which usually involves far more commitment and effort than that. Purveyors of custom phone cases Case24 conducted a study analysing the editing habits of Brits before uploading a picture on social media.
Around 3,000 people from around the UK took part in the survey and were asked whether they would post an unedited picture of themselves. The results showed the areas people are more or less likely to edit their snaps. The survey found that only 29% of people would post a picture without editing it first, meaning two thirds of respondents edit their selfies before posting.
33% said they edit their lips
London was revealed to be the area where most people wouldn’t post an unedited picture on social media. A staggering 81% of respondents from London said they wouldn’t post a picture without touching it up first.
Artwork: Nicola Jane CreativeNicola Jane Creative
In second place was Scotland, where 77% of respondents said they edit their pictures before uploading them online. In the North West, only 25% of respondents would post an unedited picture of themselves. At the other end of the scale was the North East, the area with the highest number of people who post unedited pictures (45%). People from the South West are not huge fans of editing either (when compared to Londoners at least), as 41% said they don’t mind posting unedited pictures of themselves.
But which are the body parts we want changed the most?
The results show that, when it comes to editing, 54% people change imperfections on their skin. Next is face shape, with 47% of people saying they touch up details to create a sharper jawline and higher cheek bones.
Meanwhile 46% of the respondents said they are unhappy with how their arms show in pictures and prefer to edit them, while eyes come next with 42%. And 35% of people alter their bums in pictures before posting them online, while 33% said they edit their lips. This has been touted as ‘the Kardashian effect’ where people edit their snaps to emulate the famous family.
Legs have been revealed to be the least edited body parts, with only 24% of people saying they touch them up.
Which are the most popular photo-editing apps?
When it comes to editing apps, most people (78%) prefer using the editing features on Instagram. The next most popular editing app is Facetune, with 71% of respondents saying they use it. Data from the Guardian shows the app was downloaded more than 20 million times in 2018.
VSCO, Layout, and Photo Editor were also some of the apps used by over 50% of the respondents.