Have you ever looked at a photo on social media and thought, “That person is so beautiful, they look almost inhuman”? That’s because many photos on social media aren’t real – they’re filtered or edited to wipe out signs of imperfections. Teeth are whiter, fine lines are erased, and noses are slimmer.
Beauty filters (called Augmented Reality filters) have advanced greatly in recent years, and they’re getting more and more difficult to detect. While some filters can be fun and harmless, we’re now starting to understand that, in general, the use of these beauty filters is harming our collective mental health – especially teens’.
Dr. Jantz Discusses Social Media Filters
4 minutes
Filters and mental health: What the research says
We still need a lot more research to definitively be able to say how photo filters affect people’s mental health, especially for adults. But there have been some preliminary studies with worrisome results.
One 2021 study found that over 90% of participants (women and non-binary people aged 18 to 30) used beauty filters or edited their photos. A vast majority (over 90%) also said they feel pressured to post “perfect” photos and look attractive, and that they compare themselves to others on social media. Over 75% reported they feel they will never live up to the images they post of themselves online, and 60% felt depressed because of this[1].
Authors of another report write that filtered images can increase mental health issues such as depression, social anxiety, appearance anxiety, and body image concerns[2].
Unfortunately, people can get caught in a Catch-22 when it comes to filters. Research has also shown that people who are dissatisfied with their body image are more likely to use filters – which can bring down their self-esteem and body image even further, and so on.
How using filters can affect your mental health
Experts say that using filters on every photo of yourself can impact your mental health. This may especially be true if you’re a teen or a woman, because you’re already bombarded with unrealistic beauty standards.
Here are some ways that using filters can negatively impact your mental health.
Comparing yourself to others
First of all, being exposed to so many perfectly filtered images of others on social media can negatively affect your self-esteem. You might not even realize the other person’s photo is edited, and compare your unedited face to their edited one.
In fact, research shows that only around 60% of filtered images are recognized as such[3]. To combat this problem, some countries (like Norway) are enacting laws that require posters to share when they’ve used a beauty filter on their photos.
Comparing your true face to your filtered face
Additionally, you could also start comparing your filtered photos with what you actually look like in real life. Even if you were happy with your appearance before, you could now feel your true face falls short of the filtered perfection that you’re used to seeing in your selfies.
Essentially, every time you post a filtered selfie, you are telling yourself you don’t look good enough as you are. This can, understandably, bring down your self-esteem.
Objectifying yourself
Using filters on all of your selfies or editing your pictures can also lead to a form of self-objectification. In other words, you may start seeing yourself as an object to “perfect” and “fix” rather than a real person with real experiences. This can make you feel disconnected from your thoughts, emotions, and body sensations.
Body dysmorphia and eating disorders
Body dysmorphia, poor body image, and eating disorders have all been linked to social media use. This link may partially be explained by the filtering and editing of others’ and your own photos. There’s even a name for this: Snapchat dysmorphia. People with Snapchat dysmorphia often get plastic surgery in an attempt to look more like their filtered selves[4].
If you use a filter to make your body look thinner or more curvaceous in photos, then you may feel more and more dissatisfied with the way your body really looks. And having a negative body image is closely related to eating disorders.
Depression and anxiety
Social media, especially photo-based social media like Instagram, has been linked in the research to higher rates of depression and anxiety[5]. The relationship isn’t necessarily causal – in other words, people who already have depression and anxiety may be more likely to use social media maladaptively to begin with.
The poor self-esteem and body dysmorphia that can arise from the overuse of beauty filters could also make you more susceptible to depression and anxiety.
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Dr. Jantz pioneered Whole-Person Care in the early 1980s, recognizing that lasting recovery requires treating the emotional, physical, nutritional, intellectual, relational, and spiritual dimensions of a person. He authored more than 40 books before his passing on July 4, 2025.
