February 28, 2021 by Amanda Rondez
Face filters, originally called lenses, are an augmented reality (AR) feature introduced by Snapchat in January 2015 and have become widely used across social media. Their use became especially widespread when Instagram introduced face filters in May 2018.
These filters detect the image of a face, then superimpose virtual elements onto that face with AR. A new portrait is produced instantaneously, according to Medium.com.
This technology began with Snapchat’s rainbow and dog filters in 2015 and has since become more sophisticated. Many “beauty filters” change a user’s facial features — such as enlarged eyes, slimmer nose, more defined jawline, higher cheekbones, larger lips and smoother, poreless skin — in order to instantly make their face appear more attractive according to conventional standards. Some filters even include makeup such as eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick and long eyelashes.
People’s desire for cosmetic procedures spiked as they continue to look at idealized, filtered versions of themselves, a phenomenon coined in 2018 by plastic surgeon Tijon Esho as “Snapchat Dysmorphia.” The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) reported that 70 percent of surgeons saw an increase in bookings for surgical procedures during the pandemic, “likely due to more time spent on digital devices and an unprecedented virtual lifestyle.”
A 2015 survey conducted by AAFPRS showed that 42 percent of surgeons saw patients who described looking better in selfies as a reason for wanting surgery. These results increased to 55 percent in 2017 and to 75 percent in 2020, according to later surveys by AAFPRS.
“Plastic surgery has boomed because people want to look like their filtered images,” Catherine Hillman, Cal Poly social media marketing professor, said. “The goal posts just keep getting moved because the filters keep getting more and more sophisticated, and there really, truly [are] a lot of people of looking at their online life, looking at themselves even in comparison to their own filtered images, and feeling that they fall short.”
The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reported that injectable filler procedures increased 40.6 percent between 2012 and 2017, and that 90.8 percent of those who got fillers were female. Dermal fillers are substances injected beneath the skin to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, plump lips, enhance features and improve symmetry on the face. The cost of filler treatments can be upwards of $600 per syringe, with many procedures needing multiple syringes to achieve the desired results.
“Instagram Face” refers to a combination of facial features that are commonly seen among celebrities and influencers on Instagram as well as reproduced in filters. Jia Tolentino, author of The New Yorker article “The Age of Instagram Face”, shared her thoughts on the racial implications of this trend:
“It was as if the algorithmic tendency to flatten everything into a composite of greatest hits had resulted in a beauty ideal that favored white women capable of manufacturing a look of rootless exoticism”
People of color have expressed that filters often remove or alter their ethnic features, slimming down noses, widening slanted eyes and even applying a lighter skin tone. Trends such as full lips and the “fox-eye,” on the other hand, appropriate ethnic traits.
PULSE is a Peer Health Education program that “supports the health and wellbeing of all Cal Poly students,” according to their website. Claire Dicke is a Peer Health Educator for the PULSE health enrichment action team (HEAT), which focuses on physical health and nutrition.
“Instagram fitness models create unrealistic body standards that kind of changes the definition of what a healthy person would look like, and health for everybody looks different on everybody,”
— claire dicke
Dicke said, “I think it’s important to remember that if you follow this one person’s diet you’re not gonna look just like them and that kind of goes into the whole viral ability sense and how easily things can spread.”
She explains that social media influencers promote products such as detoxes and protein powders that they may not even use, which can lead their audience to think they can look like the influencer if they use these products.
“[Influencer culture] has definitely caused a lot of issues for body positivity because a girl who’s got a super super tiny waist might get some more likes than somebody who has maybe a few more curves,” Dicke explains, “So naturally people want to be that thinner body frame and sometimes do whatever’s necessary to get to that shape even if it’s not in a healthy way mentally or physically.”
**[Content Warning: Eating Disorders]**
Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses in which a person develops unhealthy eating behaviors and is very critical of themselves in thoughts surrounding their body-image. There are many risk factors that can contribute to the development of an eating disorder and there is no single cause. However, research has shown that media is a contributing factor to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating.
Business Administration junior, Grace Battles, has experienced an eating disorder and describes how social media perpetuates beauty standards and instills a mindset of constant comparison.
“Constant comparison to other people [feels] like always not being happy with where you are, always look better than you are now, keep losing weight, always be losing weight,” Battles said. “Social media perpetuates that standard...If you keep focusing on that external comparison, you’re never going to realize that it doesn’t stop, and instead you just need to be okay with where you’re at now.”
Battles has minimized the effects of social media and developed a practice of critical thinking when consuming media by not taking images for face value.
“I do think I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve stopped comparing myself to people and I can see through the fact that it really is just a facade. Life’s too short to be constantly trying to attain that beauty standard that literally is impossible to obtain,” Battles said.
PULSE offers one-one-one sessions with their peer coaches for students who are seeking support or want to talk about health, wellness or nutrition in addition to the resources on their website.
Social media has vast influences on society and culture, and has become a part of everyday life for many. Here are a few methods to use these platforms in a healthy way:
Enable an ad blocker
Professor Hillman said that “social media exists to be an advertising platform.” She explained that these platforms aim to persuade users to click on ads in order to gain revenue and advised installing an ad blocker to decrease advertising tracking and the appearance of ads.
“If you start liking people whose images have been filtered you might start getting advertisements about plastic surgery, makeup, clothing lines [and] things like that,” she said. “The platform is built to find out what puts a little hit of dopamine in your brain’s chemistry system.”
Be mindful of who you are following
“If you follow all these workout influencers that can definitely impact how you’re gonna see yourself versus if you follow these body positivity accounts,” Dicke said, “If you notice that after you go through Instagram you feel worse about yourself, that’s clearly a sign [that] you’re not following the right people, or you’re not using it in a healthy way.”
Being intentional in choosing the content you engage with can limit social media’s negative effects.
Limit your screen time
It can be easy to let the hours pass while scrolling through an infinite feed of content. Moderating time spent on social media platforms can help prevent its negative effects. There are a variety of apps that track time spent on social media to help people manage on-screen time.
Remember that social media is a highlight reel
The content on social media is often referred to as a “highlight reel” where people share only the best aspects of their life. It’s not fully representative of a user’s everyday life or personal hardships.
Battles minimized the harmful effects of social media on her by not taking images for face value and using the platform for her own enjoyment rather than for validation.
“Now I’ve just started using [social media] however I want to and, if people unfollow me, people unfollow me and I think it’s healthy,” Battles said.
“The healthiest thing you can do with social media is just don’t seek approval from people.”
— grace battles
Social media doesn’t determine your worth
Online presence isn’t a reflection of character or value.
“We should feel more concerned about—How are we doing ethically? How are we doing in terms of our relationships with others? How are we doing in terms of our family? How are we doing in terms of treating one another with kindness?” Hillman said. “These should be the standards by which we judge ourselves but we judge ourselves based on this image that we present.”