In the long term, this feedback cycle can be very damaging to one’s mental health, warns Rachel Rodgers, a psychology professor at Northeastern University who’s studying the harms associated with digitally altered photos.

“If you’re constantly being told that your outward appearance is a reflection of your inner self-worth, then when you’re posting something to social media that people are reacting to very positively, this is not only going to briefly boost your opinion of your appearance, it’s going to make you feel like you’re a better person overall for that short moment,” Rodgers said.