When Snapchat came to the app store in 2011, the world of social media shifted. People were sending silly ten-second snaps to their friends and sharing snippets of their lives with others. As Snapchat's popularity grew, so did the app itself. In 2013, stories were the hot new thing since users got to share their lives with everyone in their address book. But the greatest thing to rock the Snapchat world is the filters.
Filters became available in late 2015 and took the Snapchat following to an entirely new level. Everyone and their mamas began to use Snapchat. There are simple filters that just change the color of the picture but there are also filters that affect the user's face. Yes, there are some filters that are made to drastically morph our faces in a humorous way, like the filter that gets rid of the middle of our faces so it looks like we don't have a nose. But then there are filters that put makeup on for us and change our eye color. These filters make users' faces look skinnier, change the jawline from big to small, makes our eyes bigger and brighter and even clears our skin.
In theory, this sounds great. No need to rush to put any makeup on before taking a picture on Snapchat, just choose your favorite makeup filter and it'll be done for you. And don't worry about skipping a big lunch, Snapchat will make you look skinny anyway.
I can't be the only one who feels slightly degraded when using Snapchat. I'm all for the puppy filters, the flower crowns and putting my face onto meerkats and pugs, but I am not okay with changing the overall shape and color of my face. Everyone has their insecurities and when Snapchat changes the pieces of you that you're insecure about, it's basically body shaming.
I understand someone thinking, who wouldn't love to constantly have photoshop at the tips of their fingers so you always look good? But what happens when you take a cute picture with a tan face and a halo of golden butterflies around your head and then you swipe left to no filter and you realize that you aren't as tan as that filter made you out to be. Your face isn't as skinny as the filter made you believe, your eyes don't shine as bright, your teeth aren't even close to being that white. What happens then? Personally, I feel "ugly" when I take the Snapchat filter off of my face. My skin isn't clear like the way the filter portrays and my face is wider than the app squeezes it. I always feel a little let down after removing the filter.
The bottom line is this, Snapchat filters are fun and I'm not denying that, but they can also attribute to body image issues. There have been days where I refuse to send a Snapchat without a filter because I hate the way I look that day. I'll put on that face morphing, bunny-eared filter and show my big blue eyes (that I don't have) and respond to my friends' snaps. And once I take the filter off, I look at my natural reflection, close the app and go put makeup on.
