Photoshop - The pixelated truth

Before

After

The examples above are before and after shots of a photo I have processed in Photoshop using multiple layers and layer masks.
The eyes are taken directly from an image taken just before or after and I  have also duplicated, one bunch of balloons. What these examples do is show how a photo can be manipulated to an acceptable standard in a matter of minutes (on a second attempt this took less than 10 minutes).
As a tool for saving potentially unusable images, the layer masks are vital but these techniques also raise the question of truth.
Manipulations using Photoshop run a lot deeper than simply correcting a small portion of the image, they are used for all sorts of unmoral reasons.
Magazines across the globe use photo editing to make models look skinnier and to make athletes look more defined.
They are also used to remove blemishes, from dry skin to full on scarring, these images then set high standards for their readers.
The typical demographic for these types of magazines are younger, more impressionable people who see these edited images as truth. This leads them to apply pressure on themselves to conform an ideal that cannot be achieved.
Also, with social and digital media younger generations are viewing more images per day than they ever have, meaning false images are distorting the truth for a lot more people.
That said, Photoshop has its place in conceptual and editorial portraits but for entertainment purposes, not to make us think we need to achieve something unobtainable.