Social media filters are widely known to alter our real looks to give our faces certain features they do not naturally possess. From having slimmer nose structures, to giving fuller lips, bigger eyes and a clear smooth skin; these filters have indirectly dictated to us what the current standard of western beauty should be and look like.
So far, cosmetic surgeons around the world are beginning to show concern at the amount of women and teenagers that appear at their offices daily with filtered snapchat selfies to illustrate what they are looking to achieve.
Renee Engeln, a professor of psychology at the Northwestern University stated that social media is beginning to affect self-esteem of young girls by making them loose perspective on what they actually look like. In his words:
It’s not enough to have to compare yourself to these perfected images of models, but now you’ve got this daily comparison of your real self to this intentional or unintentional fake self that you present on social media. It’s just one more way to feel like your falling short every day. We’ve gotten to a point where people are using filters as a source of inspiration for potential cosmetic procedures that definitely don’t come cheap. The majority of individuals who undergo cosmetic procedures are women, which makes sense considering the constant pressure they feel to live up to society’s ever-changing and sometimes harmful beauty standards Engeln said.
This growing trend should serve as a major concern for parents and also a wake up call to addressing ways we can bring up more confident women who are proud in their skin regardless of how they look.
