By Zuleikha Salim
Open Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat today and you will notice one thing—almost everyone looks flawless.
Smooth skin, brighter eyes, slimmer faces, even whiter teeth. But behind all this perfection is not reality, it is filters.
Filters were first made to be fun. They could add dog ears or funny glasses to your selfies.
But now, they have grown into tools that can completely change how someone looks. With just one tap, a person can look slimmer, younger, and more polished.
This has created a dangerous trend where people start comparing themselves to “perfect” versions of others and even to the edited versions of themselves.
The problem is that filters don’t just change photos; they change how people feel. Many young women and men are beginning to think they are not attractive enough without filters.
They post a picture and feel anxious if it doesn’t get likes. Some even avoid showing their real faces because they fear they won’t measure up to the beauty seen online. This is where self-esteem takes a hit.
What’s worse, filters are setting beauty standards that are almost impossible to achieve naturally. In real life, no one has flawless glass skin or a perfectly shaped nose.
But the more we see these “perfect” images, the more normal they appear, and the harder it becomes to accept real, natural beauty.
It’s time we remind ourselves that filters are illusions, not reality. Social media should be about connection, not competition.
Instead of chasing an unrealistic image, we need to celebrate natural beauty, the kind that doesn’t need editing.
After all, confidence and authenticity will always be more attractive than perfection created by an app.
