A new study from Örebro University shows that beauty filters on TikTok lead many young people to criticize their own appearance. The study analyzed 67 TikTok videos with the hashtag #beautyfilters to examine how women use the filters and how it affects their self-image and relationship to beauty ideals. Lame Kenalemang-Palm, a university lecturer in journalism at Stockholm University, said the filter contributes to creating an idea of what is considered a perfect face.
She conducted the research with Göran Eriksson, a professor of media and communication studies at Örebro University. They found that the use of beauty filters reinforces self-objectification, with being fairly slim considered a beauty ideal that young women should strive for. Women start to see themselves from the outside by comparing their natural faces with filtered versions.
the filter contributes to creating an idea of what is considered a perfect face
This is an expression of a kind of surveillance culture that makes women more self-critical and idealizes the perfect appearance. Filter users also try to mimic the filtered version by applying makeup and then ask their followers for confirmation of how well they succeeded. SVT met young people from Örebro who tested the filter and reacted to their new appearance.