Selfies: Photographs that a person has taken of his/herself, typically taken with a smartphone or webcam, to be shared on social media.
For many people (including myself) selfies are a way to boost self-esteem and document how good we look and feel. We use Instagram and Snapchat filters to see what makes our selfies as aesthetically pleasing as possible, but what we do not realize is that these filters subconsciously lower our self-esteem.
About a year ago, I began my journey to self-appreciation. I went from hating my body and my appearance to taking a selfie every day to document progress. Every single one of my selfies was filtered in some way, whether by a Snapchat filter or an Instagram filter before I saved a picture into my phone. I promised myself that after a few months, I would stop using the filters and I would embrace my natural beauty. It’s been eleven months, and I often catch myself attempting to use filters.
Photo filters are addicting. For some reason, they make us feel more confident with our appearance and our body image. Filtered pictures make us feel powerful, attractive, and unstoppable in the spur of the moment. However, once that moment passes, we feel anxious and wonder to ourselves “Will that filter make me look the best? Or should I have chosen a different one?”
Why can’t we appreciate and embrace our natural beauty? Why do we have to change the hue and saturation of our face to feel prettier? The reality is, we will never look like the Lark, Perpetua, or Inkwell versions of ourselves. It is impossible to achieve that “aesthetic” in daily life.
Your selfie is not any less beautiful because you did not apply a photo filter. Your lack of filters will not make your picture less appreciated or less valuable. Your selfie is not unattractive if it’s taken and adored with normal settings.
You are beautiful the way you are. You should feel beautiful when you see yourself in a reflection and when you see photographs of yourself. Stop using photo filters with the hope of gaining self-love and love yourself for who you are. We are on this journey to self-admiration together, and we will find our confidence once the usage of photo filters is lessened. The next time you find yourself turning to a filter effect, stop yourself before it's too late.
