[quote]By Sushmitha Suresh

Online Writer
Graphic by Sushmitha Suresh[/quote]

With around 100 million users, Snapchat has taken social media communication to a new level. Instead of texting, people find it easier to communicate over Snapchat rather than to call or even text. But, the question should be posed, with the filters of the app, do we lose our sense of self? Are we altering our real appearances to create an internet personality?

“As if selfies weren’t taking off as a global sensation already, this Snapchat update was a serious confidence booster when it came to selfies and picture taking self-esteem,” Julianne Stanley, writer for Growing Social Media, said.

We were introduced to easy-to-use filters in 2010, when Instagram was first launched. We were surprised at how easy it was to enhance our pictures and make our low resolution photos a little prettier. But, have we taken this technology too far?

“I think people use filters on their photos because when you’re given the chance to tweak your appearance, it can be tempting. Everyone wants to look their best and give a good impression,” senior Caroline Bourg said. “When everyone else seems flawless on social media, people feel like they stick out if they don’t put effort into their appearance.”

According to an informal survey, 47.1 percent of Metea Valley students admit to using Instagram filters and 77.7 percent use Snapchat filters. Recently, Snapchat released lenses, that are fun animations that may turn you into a dog or a person

throwing up a rainbow. One of these particular lenses, however, seems to alter your face so minimally, that it takes away your possible flaws with a classic bright filter, a trim of your face and the slight enlargement of your eyes.

According to Buzzfeed writer Kiera Wright-Ruiz, people in Korea popularly get plastic surgery to enlarge their eyes and lose weight off of their face in order to look “kawaii”, a Japanese term meaning cute. The procedure just widens their eyes enough for them to look more attractive in terms of Korean society expectations.

[quote]GIF by Sushmitha Suresh[/quote]

[quote]Photo courtesy of BuzzFeed[/quote]

48.6 percent of students have admitted to using a filter to alter their appearance. We’re starting to create something called “internet personalities”, places where we can portray ourselves in a different light. What people see in real life is no longer what they will see online. Because one person started editing their photos to look beautiful, everyone’s trying to match them. We’re trying to meet these insane standards on social media. Is this what we’re really going to call beauty?

Filters from The Stampede on Vimeo.

[quote]Video by Sushi Suresh & Madison Mohns (Youtube: @sushimohnster)[/quote]

According to a recent survey by Luster Premium White, our generation will take over 27,000 selfies in our lifetime. Are certain filters taking this narcissism to an extreme? “It creates unrealistic expectations for people. Nowadays, everyone is so glued to their phones and when there’s such large exposure to apps like Instagram, it has a large lasting impact and furthers the expectation,” Bourg said.

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Top models that have thousands of followers on Instagram use filters and photo editing apps on the daily. Kamie Crawford, a model from Maryland, tells Kate Friedman, writer for Elle, that the “Ideals of beauty are so farfetched, it feels like every single moment you have to be perfect,” she said. “Usually I do underneath my eyes, dark circles or creases. I also use Perfect365, an app that can give me eyelashes because mine are really short.” For someone that recognizes that the societal expectations of beauty are incredibly hard to meet, she definitely submits to them by using the technology she’s presented with.

It starts with a simple filter that enlarges your eyes, shaves a couple pounds off of your face, and clears your skin. This can all be done by the click of a button. Whether or not we submit to this new level of narcissism is our choice, but the fact of the matter is, that you can’t believe everything you see online anymore. We will continue to falsify our appearances so our insecurities don’t get the best of us. “I feel like filters are a temporary fix,” Bourg said, emphasizing the air quotes around “fix”. “The best thing we can do is build up each other’s confidence so people don’t view filters as something that’s necessary.”

*Disclaimer: This article is categorized as Opinions. The views of this article are that of the writer and do not represent the Stampede staff as a whole and should not be interpreted as a staff editorial.