How Face Filters Demoralised A Generation of Young Women
In a Nutshell
Social media's evolution from simple beauty tutorials to extreme, filter-driven content like Facetune and Snapchat beautification has normalized avatar-like ideals and anti-aging obsessions in girls as young as 12, fueling body dysmorphia, Snapchat dysmorphia, and social anxiety where unedited selves feel horrifying. Platforms amplify competitive rumination on mental health and attractiveness, turning self-love messaging into hypocritical marketing that hooks users on edits for dopamine hits while deepening insecurity and aversion to real-life appearances. Real-world signs include teens hiding faces in candids and fighting over photo-editing control, mirroring pickup artists' superficial gains that widen self-loathing gaps.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Beauty influencers like Zoella, whom the speaker grew up with, did simple back-to-school makeup tutorials that were basic and not harmful for teenage girls. Over time, competition for clicks and money has driven an arms race, forcing influencers to show more extreme content. Examples include transitioning from normal beauty tutorials to casual vlogs featuring a Brazilian butt lift as part of a standard beauty routine, and anti-aging routines escalating from simple steps to 50-step routines starting younger, with thumbnails like "you need Botox at 17" performing better. This escalation affects mental health trends, political trends, and beauty trends—social media drags everything to its extreme. Spending most waking hours on social media normalizes these extremes as sources of information on beauty, relationships, and politics.
Instagram and TikTok have shifted attractiveness toward an avatar-like ideal with a terror of aging among young women. The speaker wrote a piece about 12-year-olds on Reddit forums obsessing over wrinkles, ruminating on pictures, tracking sun exposure, and comparing anti-aging routines. Girls worry about wrinkles before puberty because influencers exaggerate neuroticism for clicks. Social media amplifies girls' natural tendency to ruminate more than boys, especially on platforms like Reddit where co-rumination escalates through one-upmanship, similar to conspiracy discussions racing to the bottom of the iceberg (e.g., Epstein from eye guy to reptile person).
Mental health discussions escalate competitively: "You have ADHD? I've got autism, ADHD, gluten intolerance, club foot, and my dad walked out." Platforms incentivize this as influencers build brands around diagnoses like the ADHD influencer, competing over severity.
Growing up with a front-facing camera 24/7 has costs, including Zoom face during lockdown and Snapchat dysmorphia, where people seek surgery to match filters and dislike unfiltered selves.
Facetune is a popular app where girls edit photos for Instagram: slim jaw, enlarge eyes, change waist, tan skin, whiten teeth. Teenage girls used it extensively, leading to body dysmorphia in their 20s—hitting undo reveals their actual look as "horrifying" after formative years of alteration.
Self-love coexists with record body dissatisfaction because it's a marketing strategy, like mental health awareness. Facetune was marketed as empowering. Influencers claim to have overcome insecurities and reached self-love while demonstrating jaw reshaping, with no comments calling out hypocrisy. Distinguish what's being sold versus told: apps promise confidence but leave users embarrassed, ashamed, and worse.
Similar to pickup artists contorting themselves (e.g., Neil Strauss's The Game, NLP hacks), achieving superficial success widens the gap to their normal selves, making them feel more disgusting or inadequate. For beauty, Facetune yields momentary dopamine (e.g., 200 likes) but hooks users, creating aversion to natural photos. Girls fight over whose phone takes group pictures for editing control, contributing to social anxiety as real life feels uncontrollable without edits or rehearsals.
On Long Island last August, teenage girls took hundreds of photos for perfect sunset profile pictures. When snapping candidly, they covered faces with hands (body posed, face hidden)—not cutesy like Marilyn Monroe, but defensive like avoiding CCTV.
Explained by growing up with Snapchat dog ear filter, which enlarged eyes and smoothed skin alongside cute effects (e.g., tongue lick on open mouth), leading 13-year-olds to hate normal photos without realizing the subtle beautification. Other filters mentioned: possible yellow face mask with bees (speaker unsure, suggests checking comments).
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