Social media filters: originally a strategy to create silly videos of yourself vomiting rainbows, they quickly evolved right into a dystopian, face-altering technology that manipulates your face into the wonder standards du jour – whether that’s plumped-up lips, slimmed-down noses, smooth, flawless skin or heavy lashes.
Although these filters aren’t real, the impact of them is: they're having a detrimental impact on our mental health and self-esteem. Actually, the phrase “Snapchat dysmorphia” was coined after cosmetic surgeons noticed that individuals were increasingly bringing filtered selfies to consultations, hoping to recreate the look IRL. Meanwhile research by Dove found that fifty per cent of women consider they don’t look adequate without photo editing and 60 per cent feel upset when their real...
Continue reading