'Toxic' new filter is sparking serious concern among social media users
It's no secret that filters are all part of the parcel when it comes to using social media in the modern world.
But gone are the days of turning yourself into a dog on Snapchat and the like - now you can literally make yourself look like a completely different person with a filter - and it's potentially very toxic.
Case in point, a new filter has emerged that could have a dramatic effect on a user's appearance.
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The filter is called ‘bold glamour’ and it works by smoothing out a person's skin, plumping their lips and generally completely altering the shape of their face - all along with the addition of some serious contour.
The problem, however, is that this is all done in a very realistic way - so much so that if you saw a picture of someone using the filter, you might not even realise it was there.
This unsurprisingly has a lot of dangerous implications when it comes to catfishing and the effect this could have on a person's body image and self-esteem.
The problem did not go unnoticed by Joanna Kenny, who is documenting her 'self acceptance' journey on TikTok.
Writing in the caption, Joanna said: "DON’T USE THIS FILTER. This is the viral filter everyone is using rn. Tell me honestly, have you ever not shown up irl because of how you’ve misrepresented yourself on social media?"
"I don't look anything like this but the filter itself looks natural," she then said in the video before adding that she felt comparatively 'ugly' without the filter.
"I have done a lot of work to unlearn that I owe prettiness to anyone," Joanna admitted of her body positivity journey.
"I don't think my brain know how to deal with looking like this one minute," she added, before taking off the filter to show her real face, "and this next."
She concluded by saying: "Filtered skin is not a skin type."
The video went far from unnoticed on the social media website, and since being posted four days ago on 28 February, it's already been viewed over 6.8 million times.
One viewer remarked: "Wanted to hop in here and say you're absolutely not ugly without it, then realised I said the same thing about myself."
"Honestly like unfiltered better," added a second while a third agreed, writing: "100 percent I think you are more stunning without the filter."
"You’re soooo beautiful without the filter," remarked a fourth, while acknowledging the TikToker's point about it being toxic. "But I also appreciate what you said. It's very relatable."
A fifth challenged Johanna's opinion that the filter looks too realistic and said it 'just looks like makeup.'
"When I use this filter, I don’t even look like a person. I literally look like a cartoon," remarked a sixth, agreeing with the original point.
So, in a nutshell, it looks like this is one filter, at least, that should be used with caution.
Tyla has reached out to TikTok for comment.
Emma Guinness