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Comment by Xoros | Hacker News Reader

> It's no secret that images of models are often retouched

Well it's not a secret, but it's not obvious for most teenagers. And may be not either for people without high degrees education.

A lot of people, and I suppose not only in France, are not at peace with their body shape, even if they're not obese nor anorexic. Been exposed to not really existing bodies images can be painful for self esteem.

Of course, computer modified photos are recent, but fashion already used lightning and tricking exposure when producing photos from film since, well, the fashion press exists I guess.

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> Well it's not a secret, but it's not obvious for most teenagers.

Fair enough but the list of things that can harm a teen's self esteem is endless. So in a way there is no way around learning how to deal with issues of imperfection on a personal level. And this, in turn, makes you wonder whether you couldn't spend the money that goes into this project more worthwhile. For instance, you could invest it in free sport programs. That way teens wouldn't just improve their body image but also do something for their health.

IMHO these kind of initiatives are mostly egotrips of people who want to make their mark.

>Fair enough but the list of things that can harm a teen's self esteem is endless.

Many things are endless or numerous, that's why people prioritize dealing with a) the most important ones, b) low hanging fruits.

of course, it’s not clear that there’s an actual, rational reason to believe this will have any positive effect, so it’s probably option c) must be seen to try something

if they could eludicate the mechanism that has this impact, they would likely also have evidence that violent video games cause male violence, or that bowser kidnapping princess peach causes sexism.

my guess is the operative pressure arises from peer groups, and this initiative is pissing in the wind

It doesn't matter if it's a secret or not. Constant exposure to lies can change perception even in highly rational people. Critical thinking takes effort and nobody has time or energy to digest every bit of information that hits their brain. Slowly but surely people begin to subconsciously accept the lies.

This is why propaganda is so effective. It doesn't have to even be convincing to be successful so long as it is pervasive.

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