The Filter Theory
- Jacqueline Kaider
- Nov 22, 2022
- 4 min read
Nowadays, when I log onto any social media app, I feel bombarded by filters. Every app has them, certain apps push them, specific filters trend, and users are encouraged to try them. Specifically, when I am on Snapchat and TikTok, I realize that I cannot use the app for more than a minute before coming across a user applying a filter. Even for myself, I have noticed I gravitate towards using filters when posting a video or picture of myself. This is why I have come up with “The Filter Theory” which suggests that, nowadays, people are ultimately controlled by filters and overuse them to the point that they are not satisfied with their self-image and, to push it further, people never see their true selves anymore.
This theory was inspired by a TikTok video I watched a few years back that exposed Apple for enlarging people’s eyes on FaceTime, making them appear different than they are in reality. It was shocking and disturbing to me that my face was getting altered without my knowledge. On top of that, the current media trend of face filters, photo editing, and augmented reality (AR) have really caught my eye. Numerous platforms have a filter feature, utilize AR, installed a beauty mode (which shrinks pores, smoothes skin, brightens whites in teeth and eyes, enlarges eyes, enhances colors, and plump lips), and have photo editing services right on their platforms. And although most of these features need the content creator to purposefully select the feature or take time to edit the post, the scary thing about beauty mode is oftentimes that it changes people's features without users really knowing this setting is on or what is being changed, but knowing they like how they look. Check out this TikTok video that really highlights how much beauty mode changes a person's features.
Filters have become so specific, realistic, popular, common, and now automated that perhaps users may start to believe that is how they actually look due to their consistent use.
Diving into my theory, I researched the history of filters. Apple’s PhotoBooth was released in 2005, followed by Instagram launching editing tools in 2010, and Snapchat releasing AR in 2015, gaining popularity in 2019. The point of this research was to show the huge increase in technological advancements through the years that allow people to be whoever and wherever they want to be and to give off whatever illusion they want within seconds. Users don’t need to spend money or time to alter their looks anymore. Photoshop, for example, is noteworthy to mention for photo editing. But since it takes time, skills, and money it is not accessible for many people to use. Filters, on the other hand, are made for any users (even those not tech-savvy), do not cost money, and alterations occur within seconds.
It is important to understand what repercussions this has on social media users, and women specifically. Especially considering that a recent report from the University of London's Gender and Sexualities Research Center has found that 90% of young women report using filters or editing their photos. Whether it is to change their nose weight, or simply whiten their teeth, filters are being used. According to an article written by Women’s Health, people recognize edited photos only 60 to 65 percent of the time. Therefore, most people do not think that the images they are viewing are unnatural. This has led to OCD tendencies, depression, anxiety, and other mental health impacts. In fact, according to Time, “a 2015 study of adolescent girls found that those who regularly shared and edited photos on social media had higher levels of body dissatisfaction than those who did not”. As a matter of fact, in 2020, the term “Snapchat dysmorphia” was created after healthcare providers noticed the trend of “social media-induced dissatisfaction with appearance.
In response to not being satisfied with how they look, people, specifically women, are now getting surgery to look like the filters they use. Dr. Lara Devgan, a plastic surgeon, told CNN Business that half of her patients now come into her practice with reference images of themselves that are either edited or filtered. "Instead of asking for the nose or chin of a certain celebrity, patients are now largely bringing in edited photos of their own faces", Devgan states. A plastic surgeon center, Carolina Facial Plastics, even dedicated a whole article about “What to Do When You Want to Look Like A Snapchat Filter” back in 2020. Here, the surgeon outlines different ways to get that “filtered look” using tools from their office such as lasers, fillers, noninvasive facelifts, and so forth.
It is clear that filters are, in fact, impacting people to the point that they are dissatisfied with what their true selves look like. Filters and editing tools are being used at an alarming rate, which is impacting people’s self-image. Since applications like FaceTime are already changing features without people knowing and since people have beauty modes set for apps such as TikTok and Zoom, their face is constantly being altered automatically, even without the user even realizing. So, to loop back to my theory, because of the overuse and encouragement of filters, people are not satisfied with how they appear since they never see their true selves anymore online as filters are automatically used and/or encouraged.
It is important to bring this information to light as women because it is impacting our mental health and influencing the younger generations of girls. We can change this narrative by learning to be confident without filters.
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