Social Media filters have long been a topic of conversation. From silly voice changing filters, to filters claiming to “fix your face”, apps like Snapchat and Instagram have hundreds of choices to enhance your photos and videos. 

Snapchat recently rolled out a new feature on the most recent update called Selfie Settings. The setting includes features such as “concealer”, “foundation”, “teeth”, “lip color”, and more. Users can slide a bar at the bottom of the screen to choose the extent of the filter on the photo, as well as automatically set the features. At first glance, it may seem harmless or even helpful, but this filter is beyond disgusting. Not only does the filter not label it as such when sent to other users, as usual filters do, it is designed to blend into the photo seamlessly. This means that users can’t tell when it’s being used in a photo. “I think it’s misleading because it gives unrealistic expectations for people and who they’re sending the snaps to,” Parker Kinton, 11, said.

“It’s creating insecurities,”  Sydney Kaufman, 11, said. Snapchat is predominantly used by teenagers, who are already susceptible to insecurity and low-self esteem without a filter on an app shoving it down their throats. This filter should make users reconsider their use of the app, and alert parents of users. “I don’t like my face being changed and if you use it enough it can definitely make you more insecure when you get more used to it,” Riley Yates, 11, said. 

The filter fixes what is considered “wrong” with someone’s face – pimples, blemishes, and even moles and freckles. It evens out under-eye bags and uneven skin tones, all parts of a normal human’s face.“I don’t like the selfie settings where it changes your face because it makes me feel like there’s something wrong with my face but you have to love yourself the way you look because everyone is beautiful and you shouldn’t let a filter change the way you feel about yourself,” Anvita Gutha, 11, said.