Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline, but more likely than not, it’s Facetune.

More and more teens, and even adults, are editing their photos that they post on social media. Problems with acne, wrinkles, and teeth can be altered by a simple press of a button, such as ‘teeth whitener’ , or ‘blemish remover’.

Perhaps it’s for self-validation or maybe it’s to add a little more ‘pizzazz’ to make the photo stand out from the crowd. For whatever reason, people are editing their photos to the point where it can take hours for them to finish.

Take SBHS freshman, Hannya Barbosa. She uses an app called PicsArt to edit bright and colorful stickers and filters into her selfies to make herself stand out.

“I just like making my photos more interesting for people to look at instead of looking the same as everyone else’s,” said Barbosa.

Sometimes she spends three hours making her photos look as unique as possible, using filters, stickers, and face tuning features to make her photos look top notch. The stickers she uses always have a certain theme such as the color and tint of yellow lines and vibrant yellow colors. All of the pictures Barbosa edits are really eccentric and cool to most people; however, some people prefer just slight adjustments instead of going all out.

“I don’t usually use anything but filters, unless my acne is looking bad,” said Renata Hernandez, an SBHS sophomore, who only makes minor adjustments like such as filters and some doctoring depending on how she looks in a given photo. She sticks to more of a 5 minute time frame when she edits her pictures instead of the hour time frame it takes to edit pictures like Barbosa’s. Hernandez manages to make her photos look good while keeping the editing process short and simple.

On the other end of the spectrum, some prefer the natural look over all the razzle dazzle.

Aaliyah Perez, Junior at SBHS , feels like it’s too fake to edit your photos and prefers a more natural look. Unlike Hernandez and Barbosa, her photos are plain, shot in natural light, with no editing or doctoring involved.

“When I use filters, I feel unnatural and not like myself,” said Perez. Perez believes that being natural makes her more distinctive than if she were to edit her photos.

Teens editing their photos can be for multiple reasons, such as, wanting to stand out from the norm, or maybe for the popularity. Or maybe there’s a deeper reason. Perhaps people editing their photos could stem from insecurities.

According to the article “Teens, Body Image, and Social Media,” published by Psychology Today, although the majority of teens claim to present themselves realistically on social media, many admit to only sharing information and pictures that make them appear better than they think they really are. This might be one of the reasons teens feel the need to edit their posts on social media.

Social media sites like Instagram are plagued with models, who get professional photos taken and edited by professional editors and photographers.

Mandee Martinez, 15, looks up to Instagram models as an inspiration for what she wears on a daily basis, but feels like it’s a lot to live up to.

“It’s sets unattainable beauty standards for teens you have to a instagram baddie….in order to fit in with every body,” said Martinez, a sophomore at SBHS.

Martinez uses the filter Paris to make minor changes to her appearance. She feels it’s better because you’re portraying a true picture of who you are.

“Because you’re real,” she said. “You show in social media what you’re really like.”