Let’s be real: Instagram is fake af.
Over the years, we’ve all been subject to the filters, the FaceTuning, and the straight-up Photoshopping . It seems like nothing there is real — and that’s where TikTok comes in.
RELATED STORIES
Enter the #FilterVsreality tag, where TikTok users are exposing just how drastic the difference is between what we see online and reality. And guys? Filters have gotten WAY too sophisticated.
Recently, TikTok user @rikkisandhuu ran a viral experiment.
She downloaded an app to create a TikTok demonstrating how fake social media is. She took some selfies she’d already posted to Instagram and added filters to make herself look “flawless”
The results were crazy.
“[…] I’m here to remind myself & everyone else that facial hair is VERY normal, large pores are VERY normal, bags under our eyes are VERY normal & your insecurities AREN’T imperfections,” she wrote on Instagram.
Some filters did all the work for her.
Rikki didn’t need to put makeup on for this one — the filter did it for her. It added a full makeup look — including eyeshadow! — to her face, and also shrunk her chin.
Some even added hair.
This one is mind-blowing. She was able to add hair, fill in her brows, and put makeup on with just an app. NOTHING on social media is real, guys.
To me, the most dangerous filters are the subtle ones.
The filters that are closest to “reality” scare me the most. Taking away small “flaws” is addictive, and it’s easy to start believing those small changes represent the ideal, “real” you.
Rikki said those changes totally warp our perception of reality.
“We’ve become so accustomed to looking at ourselves with heavily filtered images that when we accidentally open the front camera or get a glimpse of ourselves in unflattering lighting, we feel disgusted, ugly & worthless.”
Rikki didn’t stop at her face, though.
“I get PETRIFIED every time I go to post something like this, but even if it helps just one person feel better about themselves, then it was all worth it,” she said.
This edit of her body took her 10 minutes. Nothing is real.
The tag on TikTok is full of women showing off how fake filters are.
“Well, this is why you shouldn’t trust everything you see on the internet. Because as soon as I take this off, I turn into an entirely different person,” @lovechloejane said.
I can’t believe that filter hid her amazing freckles!
One user showed off how she does her makeup routine with the filter on.
The way the filter starts you out with a “flawless” base seriously emphasizes how fake it is. No one’s skin looks that flawless, and pretending it does is insane. We have pores, people!
Another totally changed her facial features.
The smile, the hair, the perfect skin? All fake. User @breelenehan impressively demonstrated that you can fake ANYTHING online — even your facial expression. Notice her ears have also been covered by her more voluminous hair edit, too.
A lot of makeup artists do it, too.
“Skin that looks like this, on social media, it looks like this,” Alessandro (aka @mualesandro) said. “So stop comparing yourself to people online, ’cause everybody got FaceTune.”
SO true, bestie.
One user recorded herself with the filter on and off to talk about how weird it was.
“This is your reminder that not everything you see on the internet is real. This is scary, because I don’t look like this at all. I look like this,” Amber Rose said on TikTok, revealing herself with the filter off. “And that’s okay.”
She said filters are fun for having fun.
“It’s also okay to use filters and have fun and whatever. But don’t forget that people don’t look like this,” she said. “They have pores, and freckles, and flaws. And it’s okay.”
For many people, these videos and posts have been eye-opening to say the least.
Most of us know how filters work by now, and we use them for fun on social media apps. However, videos like these are showing people just how sophisticated these filters are. We’ve been unknowingly looking at photoshopped and filtered social media images this entire time.
This comment hits the nail on the head.
Ever noticed how many online influencers look very similar when it comes to their hair and makeup? Well, that’s probably because they’re all using the same filters. Oh….
The important thing is moderation.
Of course, it’s okay to use filters and photo apps when you want to post a cute pic but don’t have time to do your makeup. The main thing people want to bring awareness to is that we can’t live up to the perfection of a filter.
Sadly, some people did NOT understand the assignment.
One of the top things people asked in the comments of Rikki’s video? How she edits herself to look flawless. The POINT is to show off that the filters are harmful to our perception of ourselves and our reality.
We still have a long way to go, y’all.