Last updated on December 13th, 2022
Photoshop is the most versatile photo editing software. Since its initial release on Mac in 1990, Photoshop has changed the world profoundly.
The Adobe image editing software is a digital vessel on how society perceives reality. From making overweight people appear thin to removing skyscrapers in the background of an image, it can almost do any type of modification to an untouched photo.
There are similar image editing software to Photoshop, such as its sister application, Lightroom, or Capture One Pro. But neither of these has the power of Photoshop’s image-manipulating abilities.
Then there are the Negative Effects of Photoshop on Society
Fake News
The news was a credible source of information. Now with false information being spread like wildfire online, it’s hard to distinguish real news from fake news.
Add a few Photoshopped photos to fake news, and the story becomes more engaging and more likely to go viral for the wrong reasons.
Fake news, along with altered photos, has impacted society in such a way that it caused protests and allegedly swayed elections.
Body Image
What should you look like? The endless images of models have an influence on how individuals dress and look.
Many people around the world are concerned about self-image, and these airbrushed photos can have the wrong influence. These prominent photos have been edited in Photoshop, and it’s unrealistic for most people to look like a Photoshop-edited model.
Travel
A picturesque, white sand beach with clear, aqua water is a familiar photo. Usually, there are no people in the photo until you arrive at the beach full of tourists: think Cancun or Varadero. You can see more people than you can sand; what the heck?
The travel industry is known for glorifying travel destinations with the help of Photoshop.
Check out Oyster’s photo fakeouts. I have to confess that I edit some of my travel photos, though I do it for fine art reasons than to mislead customers.
It’s not that Photoshop itself is negative, it’s how people use it: Photoshop is just a tool.
We know there are other image editing software, but Photoshop is king.
And in my opinion, Photoshop has changed the world in a positive way for the most part. Graphic designers, digital painters, and photographers (professionals and enthusiasts) use it for commendable reasons.
For example, do wedding photographers need to touch up their clients’ photos (pimples, anyone)? And sometimes a camera doesn’t do any justice to a beautiful sunset, so a bit of Photoshop goes a long way.
Just like Google, Photoshop has now entered our society as a verb. From simple image-editing software to a verb, Photoshop is impressive.
Hola Parceros,
I’m the founder of Aperlust. I enjoy web development and SEO and am into snowboarding and linguistics. In my spare time, you can find me destroying my opponents in chess across the globe.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. PS used ethically is a chance for humans to demonstrate their ability to execute the tool, for a tool and not to mislead and influence falsely. Nice job Vincent