#FaceFilter

[mirandatrannzz]

[Week 8]

📱 The Internet Sold Us a New Face - Now We Hate Our Own

"Fix Me" Filters & Fake Perfection: A Glitch in Reality?

Surgery filters have been widely criticized for promoting unrealistic beauty standards and harming mental health. One example is Instagram's "Fix Me" filter, banned due to its damaging psychological impact (BBC, 2019).

The filter mimicked a surgeon's markings on a patient's face, illustrating the process of cosmetic enhancement. Its creator, Daniel Mooney, intended it as a critique rather than a glorification of plastic surgery, highlighting its unglamorous reality (Mooney, 2019). However, Instagram's ban underscored a deeper issue - while filters can reinforce harmful beauty ideals, they are not the root cause. Instead, they reflect and amplify pre-existing societal pressures, making unattainable beauty the norm rather than the exception (Elias & Gill, 2017).

🚨 The real issue? Filters are not simply a tech innovation gone wrong but an extension of a billion-dollar beauty industry that profits from insecurity (Laham, 2020). While Mooney's filter was removed, the pressure to conform to digitally enhanced beauty remains stronger than ever, signaling that the issue runs more profound than any single app.

💭 So, are AR filters driving these toxic standards or merely exposing a system that has long dictated what is considered beautiful?

Eurocentric Beauty, Social Comparison & the Profitable Business of Insecurity

Leon Festinger's Social Comparison Theory (1954) explains how individuals evaluate self-worth by comparing themselves to societal norms (Festinger, 1954).

🔍 But beauty is not just an aesthetic preference; it is an industry that thrives on exclusion. The global Beauty & Personal Care, worth US$677.19bn, sustains itself by making people feel like they are never enough (Statista, 2024). In this economy, insecurity is currency, and filters are the salespeople, constantly redefining what is desirable.

✨ A striking example? Bella Hadid underwent rhinoplasty at just 14 (Ayoub, 2022), a decision shaped by the Eurocentric beauty ideals dominating her industry. Growing up in the spotlight, she was surrounded by a standard that favored features historically associated with whiteness - high cheekbones, small noses, and fair skin.

💭 Years later, she expressed regret, saying: "I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors."

Her experience reveals how algorithmically curated beauty norms shape self-perception, pressuring individuals - especially those in the public eye - to conform from an early age.

Dr. Michelle Smith linked this to 19th-century ethnic rhinoplasty, when people altered their features to "pass as white" for social mobility (Ayoub, 2022). This historical parallel reveals how beauty has always been a tool of privilege and power.

Social media intensifies this struggle. Platforms like Instagram and Snapchat profit from comparison, filling feeds with filtered, surgically enhanced faces that subtly suggest: This is what you should look like (Lavrence & Cambre, 2020). 

💥 The result? This cycle fuels body dysmorphia, particularly among women and marginalized communities. However, resistance is growing - movements like body positivity, digital detoxing, and online activism challenge the dominant beauty narrative (Coy-Dibley, 2016).

Yet, the damage is already done. The rise of "Snapchat Dysmorphia" proves that filters do not just change appearances; they change how we see ourselves.

Snapchat Stole My Face: When Filters Rewrite Self-Perception

🎥 Four video testimonies reveal a disturbing trend: Women, confronted with their unfiltered reflections, express profound depression and self-disappointment (Hawker & Carah, 2020). This is not a fleeting moment of dissatisfaction - it is a psychological fracture, where the self they see in the mirror no longer matches the self they have been conditioned to expect.

For some, the solution is drastic: deleting Snapchat altogether, a digital amputation in pursuit of mental stability. For others, the cycle of insecurity continues - trapped in a loop where natural skin textures and facial features feel like defects rather than differences (Hawker & Carah, 2020).

🤳 This phenomenon directly aligns with Festinger's Social Comparison Theory - filters do not just offer enhancements; they create a new, unattainable benchmark for beauty, forcing users into constant comparison (Festinger, 1954). When social media rewards digital perfection, reality starts feeling like a flaw.

💔  Ultimately, these experiences reinforce the central theme of this essay: The internet did not just sell us a new face - it made us hate our real one. Through AR filters, beauty standards have shifted from aspirational to artificial, leaving a generation struggling to accept their reflections (Burnell et al., 2021).

What do you think? Are filters the real villain, or are they just exposing a much bigger issue? 💬 Drop your thoughts below! ⬇️

References

Ayoub, S. (2022, March 18). On Bella Hadid, beauty standards and the shame of hiding your ethnicity. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/on-bella-hadid-beauty-standards-and-the-shame-of-hiding-your-ethnicity-20220318-p5a5rd.html

BBC. (2019, October 23). Instagram bans “cosmetic surgery” filters. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50152053

Burnell, K., Kurup, A. R., & Underwood, M. K. (2021). Snapchat lenses and body image concerns. New Media & Society, 24(9), 146144482199303. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444821993038

Coy-Dibley, I. (2016). “Digitized Dysmorphia” of the female body: the re/disfigurement of the image. Palgrave Communications, 2(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1057/palcomms.2016.40

danielmooney . (2019). Instagram. Instagram.com. https://www.instagram.com/danielmooney/p/Bx2XdrSIc2R/?img_index=1

Elias, A. S., & Gill, R. (2017). Beauty surveillance: The digital self-monitoring cultures of neoliberalism. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 21(1), 59–77.

Festinger, L. (1954). A Theory of Social Comparison Processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202

Hawker, K., & Carah, N. (2020). Snapchat’s augmented reality brand culture: sponsored filters and lenses as digital piecework. Continuum, 35(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2020.1827370

Laham, M. (2020). Made Up. Google Books. https://books.google.com.vn/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sgPzDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=billion-dollar+beauty+industry+that+profits+from+insecurity&ots=AZ_Qn9qi2Y&sig=fo1J-veHSTuCngYQ0c2NacQ5-iE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

Lavrence, C., & Cambre, C. (2020). “Do I Look Like My Selfie?”: Filters and the Digital-Forensic Gaze. Social Media + Society, 6(4), 205630512095518. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120955182

Statista. (2024). Beauty & Personal Care - Worldwide | Statista Market Forecast. Statista. https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/beauty-personal-care/worldwide

[yin-shimo]

i know obviously abel has a nose, but he really reminds me of that ‘wait they dont love you like i love you’ tiktok trend with the face filter i’m sorry 😭

THE. THE WHt treND⁉️⁉️⁉️

ok looked it up, I JUST SEE PPL DANCING? WHAT FACEFILTER😭😭😭 BUT— ARE YOU IMPLYING MY GUYS NOSE IS TOO HARD TO SEE😭😭⁉️

[jypsyvloggin]

How to get the Justin Bieber Facefilter on TikTok?

How to get the Justin Bieber Facefilter on TikTok? @nicholashuy Best filter so far 🤣🤣 #fyp #foryou ♬ Love Me – Justin Bieber TikTok Challenges are an excellent opportunity to get new followers. By joining a trend, you can benefit from the general interest. I have introduced you to a few of the past TikTok challenges and given you tips on how to participate. Now it’s time for the  Justin Bieber…

[pernillecfcw]

I cannot cope 🤣😭

[solarw]

[loveglittergirlxo]

What's Up Wednesday - The Best Everyday Purse Under $20, Collagen Update, National Osteoporosis & Pelvic Floor Awareness Month

What's Up Wednesday - The Best Everyday Purse Under $20, Recipe Exchange Giveaway, National Osteoporosis & Pelvic Floor Awareness Month

Happy Hump Day! It has been rainy here in Denver so looking forward to some sunny weather for the rest of the week. GRIT May is both Osteoporosis and Pelvic Floor Awareness Month.  I suffer from both unfortunately.  Each can be debilitating.  One is easier to talk about than the other.  We will be learning about both.  Stay tuned as I share my stories, and we hear from experts in each…

[changethegame-studio]

3d models for Instagram Face Filters ... 

[doodlesinabox]

Trick or Treat Counting down to Halloween weekend! With the pandemic still raging around the world, perhaps the safest way to do trick or treating is virtually? #halloween #halloweencostume #halloween2020 #trickortreat #halloweenideas #costume #instagramfilters #facefilter #bunny #happyhalloween #pumpkin #kidscostume #cosplay #candy #halloweencandy #knockknock (at Elm Street) https://www.instagram.com/p/CG2f9egn1pB/?igshid=poqtba87upzm

[brieezybae]

[cindykutikova]

An interview about instagram fashion that changes offline life. How do face filters affect the psyche and images of beauty?🧚

[nandimarocco]

OUTSIDERS INSIDE ME picture designs- Artistic Filter project for Instagram - Bogotá, Colombia/ Lafayette, IN, USA - 2020

Hair / Make Up Designers: Nandi Marocco @marocco - Esteban García Bravo @snebtor

[baybayin]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kristian ᜃ Kabuay (@kristian.kabuay)

Bang, tumba ka by @callmemissgrace with the Yakan Tanyak Tanyak ceremonial face painting for weddings on both women and men. My work dances in the grey area to force conversations through art. Conversations lead to understanding. Understanding leads to compassion. Compassion leads to value. Value leads to preservation. Is this cultural appropriation? I say yes and no. If you follow me, the filter should show up automatically. You can also access it on my profile by clicking on the Face icon. Be sure you have the latest IG update or unfollow and follow again if it doesn't show up. #igfilter #facefilter #augmentedreality #yakan #makeup #beauty #beautyfilter #culturalappropriation #philippines #sparkar @sparkarcreators #sparkarcreators (at SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4l9GSRjMqI/?igshid=1mwal1ej5iwpa

[car-aba-jal]

Luego de un largo proceso, salió a la luz el primero de la serie de fanzines-máscaras. Fanzines que tratan un tema en especial, y que al desplegarlos se convierten en máscaras. Poder Jaguar, trata al jaguar como animal de adoración en la cultura latinoamericana en el período prehispánico, y en algunas de las que aún hoy han sobrevivido. Estas culturas, relacionando con el concepto de “arte” (y comparando un poco con la cultura europea que nos han impuesto), sus manifestaciones y cosmovisiones han ido más allá de la religión, también estaba inserto lo mítico, generando algo zarpado. Esta cultura no esta perdida, y es igual de válida que las demás.  Las máscaras cumplieron un rol importante para la representación de personajes sagrados en sus ceremonias y rituales, con fuego de por medio. En tiempos donde abundan las filter faces o mask, ahora, que nos une? que reemplaza al fuego? El fanzine es un lindo medio para cuestionarnos.

[solarw]

[saraurb]

atm im creating a video of my hair history 😁 its so much fun to seach all my old photos 😆😆 cant wait till im ready 🙌🏻🌹 so far playing with some filters 🎾 only follow @visualize.mee, @howie759 and @filtermuse to find their facefilters in your story 👌🏻😏 . . . . . . #facefilter #instafilter #instamask #mask #filter #faceeffects #ar #instaeffct #facemask #filtorial (hier: Düsseldorf, Germany) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1MNtuDoiDc/?igshid=1psozpszhzms5