Let’s be real for a second: ever found yourself staring in the mirror, picking apart your looks after scrolling through social media? If so, you’re not alone.
So many of us feel the sting of insecurity thanks to those picture-perfect images that seem to flood our feeds 24/7.
And it’s not just celebrities turning up the pressure—random strangers with their flawless selfies have us questioning our own appearance.
But here’s the thing: those images often aren’t the real deal, and the way they mess with our self-esteem is starting to show.
A study of 2,000 UK adults dug into this and found some eye-opening stats. Turns out, one in five people have felt their self-esteem take a hit just from a glance at someone they didn’t even know.
Yes, a complete stranger managed to make them feel less-than. And it doesn’t stop there—17% said they’ve felt down after comparing themselves to a celebrity, while 10% blame TV shows like Love Island for pushing unrealistic beauty ideals into their minds.
What’s the fallout? More than a quarter of women won’t even leave the house without layering on some makeup or tossing a filter on a selfie to feel “presentable.”
A fifth of them are doing it not because they love makeup, but because it makes them feel like they’re keeping up with the image everyone else is projecting.
This whole cycle of insecurity and filtering came to light in research commissioned by Skin Proud, and it’s more common than you might think.
Over half of the people surveyed—53% to be exact—said they wished they were more confident in their natural skin. Nora Zukauskaite, Skin Proud’s global head of marketing, put it best: “We were surprised to find people care so much about what others look like—especially those they don’t even know.”
She’s right. While it’s no shocker that celebs and their impossibly smooth skin make us feel insecure, now we’re comparing ourselves to people we’ve never met, thanks to social media.
Nora went on to say, “At Skin Proud, we want to help everyone embrace their inner beauty and realise that what is seen on social media is often far from reality.”
And she’s got a point—how often do we stop to remember that those ‘perfect’ posts we see aren’t an accurate reflection of real life?
The pressure to look a certain way is relentless, with 28% of people saying it leaves them feeling downright unconfident.
For 14%, the disconnect between their natural look and their filtered social media persona makes them feel insecure. It’s no surprise that skin issues like blemishes and acne are major triggers.
A quarter of those surveyed said these are the biggest hits to their confidence, with nearly one in five admitting they feel less attractive because of acne.
The result? Almost half (43%) of women say they use makeup just to feel attractive—meaning without it, they wouldn’t feel confident enough.
And let’s not forget about the filters. Women are far more likely than men to tweak their photos—23% of women compared to 14% of men—trying to hide blemishes, enhance their features, or smooth out their skin.
One in 10 even admit to editing their nose before posting a picture. It’s become so normal that four in 10 people say editing photos is just what everyone does now. No big deal, right?
But here’s where it gets interesting—despite all the filtering and editing, 80% of people still believe it’s important to embrace self-confidence.
In fact, one in four said that if the people they follow started posting more unfiltered, raw images, they’d be more likely to do the same. And another quarter admitted they’re likely to use filters less as they get older.
So, what’s the takeaway here? We’re all facing insecurities about our looks, and social media’s endless stream of ‘perfection’ isn’t helping.
But maybe—just maybe—if we start showing up as our real, unfiltered selves, we’ll inspire others to do the same.
Let’s be honest, wouldn’t it be refreshing to scroll through feeds full of people being their true selves for a change? A little less pressure, a lot more realness—it’s something we could all use.