Photoshop Gone Too Far

We discussed in class about how sometimes using Photoshop extensively alters pictures that make them too different from the true image.  There is nothing wrong with doing this if it is purely recreational and is not used commercially. If the image is used commercially, you can be selling a fake product, but more importantly, if used in magazines or news stories, it can make the image a fabrication of what actually happened. I found a website that shows many well known exaggerated Photoshop edits from popular magazines that many people have been offended by. Another problem with exaggerated editing is if it is a person, the person can be so altered that they are unrecognizable. The models in these photos can be really offended if they see themselves on the cover 20 lbs lighter or with a thinner face. The last problem with over extensive use of Photoshop is that the public thinks that good looks are represented by the people in the magazines, fake and totally Photoshopped. This can give people lower self confidence and have many insecurity problems later in life. Once again, I am not banning the use of Photoshop, I think it is a great program, I just believe that it should be used to edit an image that is already there, not fabricate a new one out of an old image.