Are Filters Giving Us A False Sense Of Reality?

Apparently, there is a growing trend in patients asking their plastic surgeons to make them look like they do in Snapchat filters.

In a recent article published by The Guardian, patients are allegedly bringing in photos of themselves edited with Snapchat filters and asking their doctor to make adjustments to match the photo.

For those who are familiar with how Snapchat filters, and any other filter for that matter, alters one’s appearance it’s safe to say the alteration is anything but realistic.

Larger eyes, extra slim facial features, and an overall appearance of being airbrushed are all various looks filters provide. But what many people are having a hard time with is understanding that filters are fake, and are absolutely not a real or accurate account of how one can look.

Plastic surgeons are urging patients to understand that the look a filter provides is both unobtainable and unrealistic. But it’s not just the look of a perfectly filtered face that patients are after. Many want to look like their favorite filter so they can look better in selfies.

However disillusioned this sounds, the bigger question is what is all this filtering one’s face doing for society’s self esteem and sense of reality?

Are we really at a point where the majority has been conditioned to believe we can and should look like a fake filter on a picture-sharing social platform?

According to the article, young people who are addicted to their social media lifestyle often become disillusioned to reality and begin to have a hard time distinguishing between what’s real and fake.

This is mainly because on social media platforms the user can create a life that appears to be one thing but in actuality is something completely different.

Why? Because we can add filters to our lives and create the perfect world for ourselves. Hence why avid users are loosing touch with reality, because they are so use to creating a fantasy life believe in they can’t distinguish what’s real and what’s filtered.

Although social media is a fun tool, we have to create a world where the future generations are able to stay in touch with reality and not loose sense of the real world.

Because in reality we can’t slap a filter on hardship and hope it will turn into perfect bliss. Filters, or surgeons for that matter, can’t fix everything.

Doctors and therapists are recommending patients who are having a hard time distinguishing between what’s real and fake, or developing issues such as body dysmorphic disorder, should see their healthcare professional for help.

Some suggest issues such as these can cause serious mental health concerns in patients and should be taken seriously with the proper care and medical attention.