YEAR & DEGREE
2017, MFA, Kent State University, College of Communication and Information / School of Visual Communication Design.
ABSTRACT
The media is often blamed for poor body image and low self-esteem due to its use of Photoshop and other editing programs to create a beauty ideal that many consider unrealistic and unattainable. Previous research has shown that an understanding of manipulation used in these images tempers the negative effects, but no research has been done to determine the average level of media literacy when viewing manipulated photographs. This study surveys a college-aged audience to determine their ability to identify photographic manipulation and their acceptance of different levels of editing, and determine whether or not a photographic denotation system indicating manipulation is needed in the industry. The results showed that positive identification of manipulated images was consistently beneath 50%, with accurate positive identification falling beneath 30%. This confirms the need for a denotation system. The research suggests marking images that cross the threshold of acceptable edits, which survey participants identified as the presence of changes to models’ bodily composition. Adopting a marking system that identifies photos that modify models’ body composition could improve media literacy and reduce the negative effects of viewing manipulated images.