Social Media Filters Adversely Affect Our Mental Health
The harmful effects on self-esteem persist even when the filter disappears
Freckles everywhere, defined cheekbones, thick lips, a fine nose, infamous eyelashes, big and shiny eyes, smoother skin… All this is possible without going through surgery thanks to the social media filters. Users cannot stop incorporating them into their selfies.
Social networks have an increasing weight in our society, especially in terms of beauty standards. The perception of the images we find in networks such as Instagram or Snapchat, together with the filters they offer us, shows their effects in cosmetic surgery.
The mirage of digital beauty
Medical journals have dubbed this phenomenon ‘Snapchat dysmorphia’, referring to the first social network to launch the popular digital masks that deform the face in real-time. The first filters allowed you to see yourself with, for example, big, bright eyes and funny dog (or cat) ears. But now, the rhetoric has changed. Today, the most popular ones have become instant beautification tools. A single click allows someone to radically transform the creator’s physiognomy, creating the illusion of bigger eyes, prominent lips, marked cheekbones, and a thin nose. And this is the new standard of…
