Images on social media have always been edited and retouched to look appealing to the public eye. However, in the last few years, the sophistication of editing platforms and the introduction of AI in beauty filters has changed the way people edit and modify their images. Until very recently it was like I was living under a rock - yes I knew that a lot of what I was seeing on Instagram were filtered images, yet, I was a little confused about how everyone looked so similar these days - sharp face structures, flawless complexions, beautiful skin and the list goes on. My understanding of beauty filters was limited to blurring, diffusing and highlighting images just a little bit here and there - I was under the impression that people manipulate their looks using A LOT of makeup and layer it with a simple filter to add a touch of glamour. But for everyone else who was also living under a rock like me (maybe there aren’t too many of you out there) beauty filters and editing apps are highly advanced today and can give you a model-esque look within just a few minutes.
As I was trying to understand the extent to which filters can distort images I tried out some filters myself and to my surprise, just a very basic filter was able to give me the results below (without any makeup or any effort at all). One can only imagine how pro editors are able to achieve their ideal results and to what extent images can be modified – all in the name of beauty!
Beauty filters are designed and developed by people keeping in mind rigid beauty standards, and in order to align with these defined beauty ideals, we’re all tempted to use what seem like harmless “adjustments” to our images until we fall into the validation loop. For example, I might be unhappy with my not so perfect nose as it does not conform to the perfectly sharp and thin nose that is considered beautiful. A face contouring filter could easily help me overcome this insecurity by digitally altering the shape of my nose to fit the criteria of a sharply defined nose and voila!
I post an image that conforms to universally internalised and accepted beauty standards, get my share of a much-needed dopamine high through likes and followers and then what? The next time I want to feel the same high or feel validated once again I know what worked and what people want to see so I continue to use these beauty filters to validate and revalidate myself.
A thinner face, untextured skin, a “cleaner” complexion, a slimmer waist, a bigger bum — augmented reality filters and editing apps like Facetune equip us to mould ourselves into “desirable” people that fit within the prescribed beauty standards...all of it just for a moment's glory (or more like repeated moments of glory).
Will Storr in “Selfie: How the West Became Self-Obsessed” rightly points out that selfies and filters are “deeply neoliberal products that have gamified the self, turning our identities into pawns that play competitively on digital platforms for likes, feedback and friends”. In fact, I believe that now more than ever we’re seeing our digital “realities” transcend into our living reality. It is almost impossible to pull them apart.
Our digital performance online and our social performance offline have always been interconnected. Our engaged digital selves being on-trend, using filters to look beautiful, putting out our best lives, gaining a high number of likes and followers - all add up to higher social currency amongst peers (especially with younger individuals). This boosts our social reputation both online and offline. However, over the last year, the pandemic has given all of us a lot more time to spend on social media and with our Instagram feeds bombarding us with manicured images of “perfectly beautiful” women, we’re all bound to feel a lot less confident and a lot more insecure about our appearances. In fact, at a time when our digital identities are the only version of us that the outside world can see, it is only logical for us to constantly focus on and curate our virtual identity. Unfortunately, this means a granular focus on our physical “flaws”, a heap of increasing insecurities and an army of resources, editing apps and beauty filters to “fix” these flaws.
As a result, many of us start experiencing body dysmorphia and are constantly anxious about our appearance. Having used filters we are likely to get accustomed to the look of our ideal digital version and in comparison, our real selves fall short. Thus now the comparison is not just with models, and other “beautiful” people, it is also with one’s own digitally doctored self, making our real-life appearance-related insecurities far worse than they were when we started on our online journey. The added pressure to match up to one’s own filtered self that was successfully achieved online can sometimes force the best of us to take things to the next level to create our own filtered reality...by looking towards the beauty/cosmetic surgery industry.
“Snapchat dysmorphia” a term introduced by cosmetics doctor Tijion Esho proves that the validation loop is addictive to the extent that people stop recognising their real selves and increased insecurities by comparing their real selves to their filtered selves pushes the ones who have the resources and access towards cosmetic surgery. One’s filtered and “validated” self boosts one’s confidence and the only way to look like the filtered selves is by bringing the filter out of social media and into reality through cosmetic surgeries and body modifications to create our very own filtered reality. Cosmetic surgeons reported a rise in people bringing in edited images of themselves from social media as a reference look that they wanted to achieve through cosmetic surgery. This means that people are trying to break the validation loop and overcome insecurities that were exacerbated by using social media filters as they compared their real selves to their filtered selves. Many of us could possibly even feel more confident about ourselves looking more proportionate, flawless and perfectly beautiful, not just while using filters but also in reality now - a feeling of achieving the best version of ourselves.
However, many don't have the resources and access to these procedures and if the procedures lead to overcoming one aspect of our appearance insecurity, the innumerable and ever-changing filters and editing apps could very easily trap us in another validation loop and then what next - a rhinoplasty, a Brazilian butt lift, botox, etc. Cosmetic procedures are absolutely a personal choice and there is no judgment involved here but what is concerning is that the perils of social media filters further emphasize narrow standards of beauty and give rise to insecurities and anxieties of many, especially adolescents. Taking note of this, many individuals and some of the beauty forward brands are also championing an unfiltered reality by highlighting the dangers of beauty filters and their role in encouraging unrealistic beauty standards. For example, Dove’s recent Reverse Selfie campaign that is part of their larger self-esteem project meticulously shows the process of taking a selfie and everything that goes into it before it is put out on the world stage, but in reverse, to emphasize the fact that what we see on social media is most often not representative of what beauty looks like in our everyday lives.
As I echo the same sentiment, I also believe that the conversation still has a long way to go and it is each individual's choice to do what makes them feel their best. A lot of people believe filters make them feel more confident as do cosmetic surgeries. However, if we zoom out and look at the larger picture then our collective choices are what can really make a difference in changing beauty standards to make them more accepting and inclusive.