With the rise of photo editing software and the increasing importance of our image on social media, most of us sometimes get worried about what people think of us. Do I look good enough? Do I dress stylish enough? What do people think of me when they see my picture? Would I get more likes/upvotes/notes/tiny red digital hearts if I did X, Y, and Z?
Unfortunately, some people have these thoughts far too often and take them to extremes: they care about their body image so damn much that they start relying on photo manipulation to extreme levels. This results in people looking radically different online than they do in real life. And when you do a side by side comparison? Wow. The difference is striking, often hilarious, and might make some of us wish you were born before they invented electricity.
We’ve collected some of the best examples of Instagram photos vs. reality from the incredibly popular r/Instagramreality subreddit, so get ready for some shocking comparisons. Scroll down, upvote the pics you enjoyed, and let us know what you think in the comments. After you’re done with this list, be sure to check out We’s previous articles showing the vast difference between what some fake people look like in real life and how they present themselves on social media right here, here, and here.
#1 Found On Facebook
#2 Yikes
#3 When You Preach Body Positivity And Then Shop Your Waist Into Oblivion
There are more people who Photoshop their pictures than most of us think. Of course, most of these edits and photo filters aren’t as drastic as the ones shown in this list, but it still raises the question of how widespread this is.
According to one study, two thirds of Australian women believe that it’s wrong for magazines to edit photos before printing them. The irony is that 57 percent of them also admitted to Photoshopping their own pictures before posting them on social media.
#4 Saw This On Instagram
#5 When You Move Too Much And The Filter Comes Off
#6 His Page vs. Her Page. I Guess He Had To Bring Her To His Level ?
The desire to receive approval and to create a positive reputation for oneself means that some people take multiple selfies in order to get the ‘perfect’ shot.
Dr. Vivienne Lewis, a Clinical Psychologist at the University of Canberra, told the Daily Mail that more and more women are becoming dissatisfied with how they perceive their bodies and their image, thus resulting in a low self-esteem.
#7 Girl, What Is Up With Your Legs?? She Put The Whole Leg On Backwards In The Second Pic!
#8 Famous Singer From My Country
#9 Floors Look A Bit Bent…
“The thing is, they’re constantly having to meet unrealistic beauty trends and standards,” Dr. Lewis explained. She noted that there is huge pressure for women to look ‘perfect’ in the age of social media. “Women in particular who are very concerned about their bodies can spend hours editing photos.”
#10 What The Tim Burton
#11 On The Left, Pictures Someone Posted To Twitter Calling Her The Most Beautiful Woman Alive. On The Right, What She Really Looked Like That Day. I Agree She’s Absolutely Gorgeous, So Why Photoshop Her To Make Her Look Like A Doll?
#12 This Girl Was Posted In Another Post For Falsely Calling Police On Her Neighbor. They Put Both These Pictures In The Article
#13 I Cannot Believe She Seriously Posted This
#14 This Person Is Running For Mayor Where I Live. Yikes
#15 Legs For Days
#16 Left: Instagram, Right: Youtube
#17 Local Nail Salon Apparently Removes All Wrinkles From Your Hands After Doing Your Nails
#18 The Longer You Look At It, The Weirder It Gets
#19 Now That The Clouds Have Been Pointed Out, That’s The First Thing I Look At Now
#20 Flexible Bones
#21 Couldn’t Believe My Eyes With This One
#22 Same Person, Different Angle
#23 Apparently We Should All Be Ashamed Of Our Knuckles Now
#24 I Normally Don’t Notice These Things But Come On….
#25 Her Instagram Is A Gold Mine For This Stuff. Every Time She Posts, Her Edits Get More Extreme
#26 May I Present To You, A Thicc Zombie. He Makes Fake Pages To Follow And Comment On His Own Pictures And Deletes Anyone Else’s Comments That Call Him Out
#27 The Guy On The Left (Who Doesn’t Really Filter On His Own Insta) Got Filtered By The Other Guy A Bunch Too
#28 Serving Ginger Realness
#29 Saw This Girl On Tiktok…atleast She’s Completely Honest About It Lmao
#30 Dude From Tinder Must Think He’s Got Us All Convinced
#31 Goldmine Ig Account. There So Many To Choose From
#32 Left Was Posted On A Thinspo Insta Page. I Thought They Were Tackling This Issue?
#33 I Don’t Even Have To Say Anything
#34 Ouch @ Her Dislocated Hip, She Should Go Get That Checked Out
#35 Filtered vs. Unfiltered
#36 At This Point, What Is Real?
#37 Completely Changed Her Face Structure
#38 Christmas Is Coming. Don’t Forget To Photoshop Yourself With A Nice Tree
#39 I Posted A Girl Who Got Called Out For Photoshopping Her Makeup A While Ago. Now It Seems Even The “Greats” Are Getting Away With It
#40 The Picture She Posted vs. The Original
#41 The Photo She Posted vs. The One Her Friend Posted Of Her
#42 He Is Honestly Very Talented But The Editing Is Just So Unrealistic
#43 At Least She Edited Her Friend Too
#44 On Today’s Edition Of What I Bought vs. What Arrived
#45 Oof
#46 She Didn’t Even Run The Race
#47 Faking Your Entire Life
#48 This Girl On Fb Who’s Infamous For Her Edits Like This
#49 This “Mua” Got Called Out On Twitter For Photoshopping Entire Makeup Looks. Have A Look At The Closeups – The Angle And Eyebrows Are Exactly The Same In Each Photo. She Claims All The Intricate Designs Are Hand Drawn & Deletes Any Comments That Ask About Photoshop/Editing
#50 I’ve Found My First Blurry Disaster. Unreal To Think That She Actually Posted This. And Didn’t Delete It
#51 Instagram vs. Reality
#52 Instagram vs. Reality
#53 Mommy Blogger Claims To Have Cut Her Pant Size Nearly In Half In Just Two Months After Losing Only 15 Lbs, But Has The Exact Same Manicure In Both Pictures And Looks Exactly The Same. She Replies To Everyone Calling Her Out In The Comments And Has Accused Some Of Bullying
#54 Popular Indian Fitness Dude
#55 Your Favorite Computerized Hourglass Ig vs. She Forgot Her Sarong
#56 Got Your Nose
