These two Instagram photos prove just how deceptive filters can be

A woman is highlighting the problem with heavily edited posts on social media by sharing a video in which she changes her appearance with social media filters.

Emily Clarkson, daughter of TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson, often highlights on Instagram how dangerous filters can be to body confidence.

And we have to applaud the honesty.

This week has been no different, as her most recent posts, the self-love advocate shared a video perfectly illustrating just how easily people can change up their reality in the images and videos they chose to share on the internet.

The video might leave you blinking in confusion as even Emily’s hair colour changes in the transition.

She wrote in her caption:

YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF HOW WARPED YOUR INSTAGRAM REALITY IS.

The skin that you see has been smoothed. The lines buffed out. The blemishes eradicated. The eyes are brightened. The tones are softer. Some bits are smaller. Others are bigger. There are not just a “couple of filters” out there that you gotta keep your eyes peeled for. 

There are a PLETHORA of apps out there and they’re doing everything you can think of and more. And the worst thing about that is, you have NO idea who is using what to do what.

Whilst I will never blame an individual for editing themselves (most people are driven to it out of insecurity) we do need to address the behaviour of some of the people that we look up to on these apps. Because the fact that people can entirely alter their reality AND NOT EVEN NOT TO DECLARE IT will be causing more issues then any of us perhaps realise. 

We are comparing ourselves to people that simply DO NOT EXIST. I look at these edited photos of myself and I barely know the person, and yet... it’s ‘me’- just the “Hollywood” version available in some app. How am I meant to then be ok then with the person I see in the mirror... if she doesn’t look anything like the reflection I’ve curated for myself online?

In the long run, no one wins with these apps. The external validation the altered images receive in the shape of Instagram likes will not be worth it to the individual who cannot compete with their online persona. And the consumers will never be happy if they are perpetually comparing themselves to people that literally don’t exist. I know I’m banging on about this. But so long as the apps are relentless, so must we be.

Clarkson has raised some seriously important points and has said in the past that she hopes in making these videos she might encourage social media users to question the ‘reality’ of what they see. As a result, maybe they'll stop comparing themselves to often unachievable visions of beauty.

In conclusion: don’t believe everything that is posted online. It's an impossible task to compare yourself with others.