TikTok’s latest beauty filter is indistinguishable from reality
Image: Midjourney at the suggestion of MIXED
A lot of social media revolves around beauty. There is also a new beauty AR filter from TikTok.
Beauty AR filters have been a controversial topic for years, especially on Instagram and TikTok. They conjure up perfect make-up, emphasize cheekbones, transform a hooked nose into a snub nose. Everything that the ideal of beauty demands.
“That is not healthy”
TikTok’s latest beauty filter reaches a new level of realism: it covers the entire face and is so robust that it remains flawless even if you pluck your false eyebrows or wipe your hand over your face.
– Memo Files (@memotv) February 26, 2023
Many TikTok users are amazed by the before and after effect. One user says when she turns off the filter and her true colors reappear, her insecurity will skyrocket, commenting that “it’s not healthy.”
– Memo Files (@memotv) February 26, 2023
According to TikTok user zoe_george_, the filter is “perfect” — but also dangerous. Many girls may not realize that others are using the filter and may follow the standard of perfection it sets because they think that’s what people look like.
I don’t want to be known as the Tiktok filter guy but ICYMI after attacking GenX with teen filter, Tiktok just dropped a new filter to take out Millennials and GenZ. “Beauty filters” aren’t new, but the precision is beyond uncanny. This is psychological warfare and pure evil. pic.twitter.com/2G2FeMfrTC
– Memo Files (@memotv) February 26, 2023
User “memo_akten” describes in detail what changes the filter has made to his face: it widens his forehead, lowers his eyebrows, slightly raises the outer corners of his eyes, makes his nose narrower, his lips fuller, his upper lip shorter and his chin stronger .
The effect seems to do different things in different people. In men it is generally very subtle (not so subtle in women, much harsher and unrealistic expectations). But even in men, it’s not just “makeup,” it makes structural changes (which is trivial once it builds the 3D facial mesh). pic.twitter.com/K47mJx1XOu
– Memo Files (@memotv) February 27, 2023
In general, the filter affects different faces differently. With “memo_akten” the effect is rather subtle.
Criticism of beauty filters
In particular, beauty filters that manipulate facial features have been criticized for distorting reality. They can have a negative impact on the self-perception of users and viewers.
A study published in June 2019 in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that such beauty face filters can increase interest in cosmetic surgery. As a result, in October 2019, Instagram banned filters related to cosmetic surgery.
In December 2021, a marketing study on the effect of makeup AR filters, i.e. without physical facial manipulation, examined self-perception before and after using a makeup AR filter compared to a traditional mirror image.
The result: the initial self-esteem strongly influences the effect of AR filters. Subjects with high self-esteem experienced a 44 percent larger gap from the ideal state after using the filter than after looking at their reflection. In contrast, subjects with low self-esteem reported a 16 percent smaller gap from ideal after using the AR filter.
How does that fit together?
According to the researchers, the AR filter made subjects with low self-esteem feel “more beautiful”, ie closer to an ideal. The filter showed them an attractive, possibly attainable, alternative state of themselves.
Test persons with high self-esteem, on the other hand, felt rather unsettled by the visually realistic intervention in their natural appearance.
In a follow-up survey, the researchers found that the AR filter had increased the discrepancy between participants’ desired and actual appearance, ultimately leading to a reduction in their self-compassion and tolerance for their own physical imperfections.
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