In a world full of plastic surgeries, flawless skin and having the perfect body, AI beauty filters on social media have become the new normal. What starts as a fun, creative tool to help you look pretty, evolves into taking photos with filters every time.
Although filters look like a harmless way to boost your confidence, many research studies have revealed that these filters are creating disconnection from reality and slowly destroying our self-esteem.
The reason why many people use AI beauty filters is to make themselves look prettier than they already are. Sometimes it’s not always about themselves. Sometimes it’s about keeping up with everyone else and comparison. I’m sure you’ve heard of the term, “Comparison kills you,” many times. That’s what using AI beauty filters can do to you. It makes you feel like your “real” self is worthless.
Beauty filters can create a false ideal that we use to compare ourselves to others. There is a condition called “Filter Dysmorphia” where the brain starts to accept the filtered image as the “real” you, making you feel bad about yourself in real life.
Junior Johista Mani Vadaparthi said, “I think its a bad thing [using filters] because it is spoiling our originality.”
Honestly, you don’t need beauty filters to make yourself look aesthetic or pretty online.
Overcoming this condition lies in the intentional and mindful steps you take to re-train your brain and reconnect with your “real” self. Make sure you know you’re worth it.
This digital perfection is spilling over into real-life behavior and mental health. The rise of “Snapchat Dysmorphia,” which is a psychological phenomenon where people undergo cosmetic surgery to achieve the same look as their filtered images on social media.There is a link between this and the heavy filter use, which can lead to mental health issues.
What you can do to avoid these conditions is reduce the number of filters you put on yourself, or stop using them and practice self-compassion. Be happy with yourself.
As Jessamyn Stanley, author of “Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear: Get On the Mat. Love Your Body,” said in their book,
“We can foster a sense of love and compassion powerful enough to restructure our society’s entire perspective of ‘body love’.”
In fact you don’t need filters to make yourself look beautiful online because as RM, Kim Namjoon, a member of BTS put it, “Nobody is born ugly.”
