Lately, social media has been making me question what’s real and what’s fake. Scrolling on Instagram, I see these beautiful women.

They are skinny, have clear skin and perfect hair; their nails are always done, white teeth; the list goes on and on.

When I am constantly exposed to these picture-perfect women, I can’t help but compare myself to them.

Why am I not as skinny as they are? Why do I have so much acne? Why is my hair frizzy? What is wrong with me? How can I look like them?

The truth is what we see on social media is not always the reality.

With today’s technology and photo editing, as well as AI enchancers, it is almost impossible to determine if a picture has been edited or not.

It is important to keep in mind that edited photos do not represent true meaning; they are not real.

The same goes for the variety of face filters social media apps offer for their users.

On the app TikTok specifically, there is a beauty filter that can be used while filming videos.

This filter gets rid of acne on your face, redness, and even those nasty pores we all despise.

Almost every video I come across on TikTok shows not only women, but men with the beauty filter on.

It is crazy to me that it has become a norm for people to hide their true self by adding tons of filters to themselves.

They even have filters for whiter teeth, bigger lips, slimmer faces, lighter skin, and longer eyelashes!

There is a filter for every insecurity we have — and it is a shame.
These filters have also been used for marketing purposes. For example, I was watching a video on TikTok promoting teeth whitener strips.

As someone who struggles with this insecurity, I was intrigued by the ad.

After looking at the comments, many people were saying that the whitening didn’t work for them at all.

They speculated that the influencer had actually used a teeth whitening filter. So if even influencers are caught lying about products they use or don’t use, who are we to trust? Its gotten to the point that we cannot believe everything we see on social media.

TikTok does not tell viewers when a filter is applied to a specific video, so we are obligated to believe what we see.

Many of these filters — especially the beauty filter — are used by popular influencers we follow. At the end of the day, they are called “influencers” because they are being paid to promote a product, influencing their viewers to buy it.

I have unfollowed many influencers because they would promote products that “promise” clear skin or “promise” longer eyelashes, and it turns out they don’t even use these products — or they don’t work in the first place. Filters are again, of course, being used to sell these products. Some influencers are even promoting a gummy you take to become skinnier.

It is so incredibly sad how people are being paid to promote a product that doesn’t work, and it is making society more insecure and depressed.

As a 20-year-old woman in this day and age, authenticity is hard to determine.

I think it is important to stay true to yourself. I constantly try to remind myself that I am perfect the way I am.

I don’t need to buy $40 gummies to make me skinnier.

So, when I ask myself these questions like, “Why am I not skinny” or ,“Why do I have acne” I answer, “Because I am a real human. I am not perfect.”

Many of these filters — especially the beauty filter — are used by popular influencers we follow. At the end of the day they are called “influencers” so they are being paid to promote a product and influence their viewers to buy it. I have unfollowed so many influencers because they would promote products that “promise” clear skin or “promise” longer eyelashes, and it turns out they don’t even use these products or they don’t even work. Filters are again, of course, being used to sell these products.

These influencers are also promoting a gummy you can take so you become skinnier. It is so incredibly sad how people are getting paid to promote a product that doesn’t work, and is making society more insecure and depressed.

As a 20-year-old woman in this day and age, it is hard to determine what is real and what is fake. I think it is important to stay true to yourself. I constantly try to remind myself that I am perfect the way I am and I don’t need to buy $40 gummies to make me skinnier. So, when I ask myself these questions like “Why am I not skinny” or “Why do I have acne” I answer, “Because I am a real human. I am not perfect.”

When using social media take caution because it is an unreal virtual portal.