Can a tiny label fix a giant problem? Norway's retouch law tackles social media's beauty lies

SCROLL. Double tap. Swipe left. For many of us, this isn’t just a mindless habit, it’s our second life.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

But behind every flawless selfie and dreamy travel reel, there’s an unspoken truth: our daily dose of online perfectionism might be eating away at our real-life mental health.

A Norwegian law that quietly made headlines in 2022 has resurfaced on Instagram feeds again, and it’s more relevant now than ever.

This law demands that all adverts must be clearly labelled if they've been digitally retouched.

Whether it’s smoother skin, slimmer waists or brighter eyes if it’s been edited, you should know about it.

If not, the influencer or brand could face hefty fines.

At first glance, this might feel like a small policy change in a faraway country. But it taps straight into one of the biggest wellness crises of our hyper-connected age: our unhealthy obsession with looking perfect online.

With over five billion people now using social media, most through mobile, our relationship with digital beauty has become deeply personal, and for some, dangerously unhealthy.

Where did this obsession come from?

Let’s be honest humans have always loved a little embellishment.

Theatre, magazines, film, they've all sold us polished versions of reality. But unlike old-school media, social media is personal.

It’s our faces, our bodies, our kids, our homes being airbrushed and filtered for all to see.

A study published in the National Library of Medicine shows just how common this has become: one in four people now edits more than 40% of the photos they post.