Photoshop and Ethics: Conclusions

                New media technologies can arrive so fast that neither legal nor cultural forces are able to address the ethical concerns. In the past decade, the introduction of numerous digital technologies has brought about all sorts of growing pains that need to be addressed. Photoshop, like other media production technologies, must me given attention in order to stop dangerous behaviors and trends from happening. The ease this program brings for photo manipulation increases the opportunities for people to misuse it. As such, both authorities like news providers and the public must demand education in order to avoid the dangers of altering reality.

                I’ve discovered through learning to use Photoshop and researching it that the ethical concerns extend beyond the realm of body images. Photojournalists have used the program to make their work more visually appealing, breaking the purpose of journalists to provide an accurate representation of the world to the public (Ricchiardi, 2007). Politicians from both parties have used Photoshop for their own benefit to adjust reality (McQuade, 2014), (Sullivan, 2013). It’s incredible how easy it is to perform this; when I practiced editing news photos, it took me around an hour to edit all the photos to how I wanted.

                The desire to alter reality using Photoshop can be explained with the idea of remediation. Bolter and Grusin argue our culture desires remediation by both increasing the amount of media available and erasing all traces of mediation (2000). Photoshop provides a platform for people to make the difference between original images and doctored ones much harder to see. Users of Photoshop practice a form of remediation by closing the gap between real and fake and then spreading these images through the web. 

                Though Photoshop certainly provides ethical issues, the same world of digital technologies it is a part of allows us to be more critical of media and detect possible breaches of ethics. The public subverts traditional media by creating their own images, while bloggers and other communities provide scrutiny over the images presented for us. While new media like Photoshop always present new concerns for society, they simultaneous present new benefits and powers.

                This concludes my segment on Photoshop and ethics. In my final posts, I’ll be analyzing how Photoshop in tandem with digital culture has provided amazing opportunities for individuals to shape culture and politics. Thanks for reading!

Bibliography:

Bolter, J. D. and Grusin, R. (2000). “Introduction” Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge: MIT Press, pp 3-15.

McQuade, D. (2014, October 17). Tom Corbett's Campaign Photoshopped Him Next to a Black Woman. Retrieved from Philedelphia Magazine: http://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/10/17/tom-corbett-campaign-photoshop/

Ricchiardi, S. (2007). DISTORTED PICTURE. American Journalism Review, 29(4), pp. 36-43.

Sullivan, S. (2013, January 4). Pelosi defends altered photo of Democratic women. Retrieved from Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/01/04/pelosi-defends-altered-photo-of-democratic-women/