Do Photo-Shopped Images Make You feel Bad- Meet the Author

Thanks to Stephanie Tullis for sending you my way. Have you checked out her book? You can find it at The Master's Plan.

Now on to this week's question. Do photo-shopped images make you feel bad about yourself? Do you worry about the affect it has on teens?

I grew up before photoshop. (Yes, I'm that old.) I wasn't bombarded with artificial images of pretend women. That was back in the day when the style was to be natural. Anybody remember Mama Cass Elliot? What a voice! And she wasn't afraid of her size. That's just the way she was.For many years I didn't own a scale, and I never measured myself. Of course, I never had a "girlish figure." I was athletic way back then, and I frequently bought men's shirts because they fit me better. It never bothered me.I didn't worry at all about modeling myself after anyone else's ideal image.

But do I worry about the effect it has on teenagers? Absolutely. Both male and female. Males, because they are presented with unrealistic portrayals of what a woman should look like.If they think they're going to find one of those overly processed pretend girls in real life, they are going to be disappointed.

And the girls? It starts long before they are teenagers. Take a look at the Disney princesses. You think those are realistic images to present to little girls?

And it only get worse as they get older. I remember hearing two young girls in the grocery store—they were maybe 12 or 12—worrying about being overweight. They were both at a perfectly appropriate weights for their age and height. And I stopped and told them so. I wasn't sure they believed me, but maybe they will remember it down the line somewhere. So yes, I'm sure they were being influenced by the distorted images in magazines and movies and on television.

Truth is, the whole photoshop thing is one of my pet peeves. I'm much more a proponent of the idea that it's what inside that makes a girl beautiful—what she thinks and feels, and how she treats herself and other people. Maybe that's outdated thinking, or maybe it's an idea coming back into popularity.

To find out what author Patti Fiala  has to say, head over to her blog at PJ Fiala. And don't forget to check out her books.