A stunning influencer and journalist has spoken up about the reality of Instagram and how people can heavily are able to heavily edit their bodies.
Danae Mercer, 35, regularly posts on social media to promote “self-love” and body positivity.
The successful influencer has a whopping 2.4m Instagram followers and is beloved by her fans for being “real” and giving them inside tips on “angles” and posing.
READ MORE: Stunning influencer shows how models fake perfect beach snaps despite ‘cellulite’
In her latest video, she showed how powerful photo retouching can be.
She used an app to give herself an extremely cinched waist – only to reveal in a second, un-posed clip that her body looks very different.
(Image: danaemercer/Instagram)
Denae proudly flaunted her natural body while sitting in a bikini – and penned a message to her fans urging them to not believe social media posts.
The post, which has gained more than 55,000 likes, was captioned: ” In clip one, I’ve EDITED my body and I’m posing. In clip two, I’m just posing. And in both, I want to remind you that SOCIAL MEDIA is curated…
“But you probably already know this. We all probably KNOW this. So why do we compare our thousand unstaged, unplanned moments against pictures of perfection?
“Why do we interpret OUR WORTH through such a deliberate, warped lens? I’ve been thinking about this A LOT lately. About how SOCIAL MEDIA is so often FAKE, and still, we listen to its soft half-lies.
“Not just when it comes to POSING and BODIES, although this is the easiest thing to illustrate on an image-led platform.
But also when it comes to RELATIONSHIPS. To FRIENDS. To entire REALITIES.
(Image: danaemercer/Instagram)
(Image: danaemercer/Instagram)
“And our worlds NEVER live up to these glamorous, perfect, sunset-drenched and clenched and posed snapshots. Because humans aren’t LIKE THAT. Not really.
“We’re messy and raw and complex and conflicted. We come wrapped in bodies with CELLULITE and stretchmarks, And full of SOULS that tremble as they hope. We are real. We are incredible.
“So today, today, I just want to remind you to challenge that lens. Challenge what it tells you about yourself. And how it makes you feel. Remember that what you see on here — whether it’s shapes or life stories — is just one bite-sized moment.
“One second that’s been CHOSEN to share. And that your life, your body, YOU. With all your glorious tumbles. And your deliciously raw dreams.
“You are WONDERFUL. You are WORTHY. And you are INCREDIBLE. Exactly as you are. Exactly as you ALWAYS are.”
(Image: danaemercer/Instagram)
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Viewers flocked to the comments to praise her and thank her for spreading the powerful message – as many needed a reminder to stop comparing themselves to airbrushed models on social media.
One user wrote: “Thank you. Us women need to stop comparing ourselves!”
Another added: “Terrifying the editing nowadays! Didn’t even know this was possible!”
A third commented: “This is sickening but thank you for sharing. I struggle with body dysmorphia and this helps.”
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