As much as we all love Instagram, it's apparently kind of bumming us out. The platform was recently found to be the worst for your mental health — but body-positive blogger Milly Smith wants to change that, one pair of tights at a time.
On Monday, Smith posted a before-and-after photo comparison of herself, using one photo in which she is wearing tights, and one in which she isn't. The point, she said, was to show that comparison really is the thief of joy.
"Same girl, same day, same time," she captioned the photo. "With a camera angle and clothing I can change my body into something that society would deem more acceptable than the photo on the right."
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Smith pointed to the findings about what Instagram can do to your mental health, writing, "that's not ok."
"We compare ourselves to these images of posed, strategically taken photos," she said. "Comparing yourself is a thief of your joy/self love and even more so when you're comparing aesthetics to images that aren't reality."
"Both these photos are beautiful," she added. "Both these photos are worthy. However only one of these photos is truly me, comfortable and naturally loving myself."
Back in January, Smith used a pair of tights to make a point about body image, showing that the "perfect body" can often be an illusion. She's doing so again, she told People, to show just how easy it is to "manipulate your image" online.
"I wanted people to realize that the images they are seeing are not a true representation of how bodies look," she told People.
At the end of the day, whether or not Instagram impacts your mental health rests on a lot of factors. But if you find that it's detrimental to your body image, Smith is here to remind you that your real body is worthwhile of love.
"Get rid of accounts that make you feel negative, get rid of people in your life that don't make you feel happy, loved and beautiful," she wrote on Instagram. "Don't let an all ruin your life."
It's your body. It's your summer. Enjoy them both. Check out more #TakeBackTheBeach here.
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