TikTok sets usage time limit for people under 18 0:41
(CNN) --
TikTok users of a certain age are getting a big dose of nostalgia with a trendy new filter that aims to take them back in time to their teenage selves.
Working primarily by smoothing out wrinkles, the Teenage Look has quickly amassed 3.4 million views to date, often set to the tune of The Verve Pipe's heartbreaking 1996 alternative song, "The Freshmen".
But while baby face and aging filters have previously made the rounds on social media platforms for the sake of instant time travel, many of the most popular posts from teen filters have a somber tone, as users say they experience a
flashback
to some of their most formative years.
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"If you are young and you wonder why we old people go crazy with this filter, it is because in 20 or 30 years in your head you will still think that you look like this," says TikTok user mandertok in a video, with the filter with the one who looks younger.
"And then there's going to be some kind of filter that makes you realize that you look like this now," he continues, showing the split screen with his visibly older true self.
While some TikTokers keep the issue lighter, showing real footage from their teenage years, others use the filter to talk about the lack of self-confidence they had in high school or the difficult experiences they faced, using before and after split screens. the after to impart life advice to their "younger selves".
While many of the posts featuring tears and shocked faces may seem staged for virality's sake (this is TikTok, after all), there's something jarring about being able to see a face that hasn't looked back at you in the mirror. for some time.
Some users have discussed how the filter has stirred up old emotions related to the trauma they experienced during those years, while others said it has given trans and non-binary people the opportunity to see a younger self that matches their identity as gender.
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Social media's focus on looks is hard on girls (Credit: Tommaso79/iStockphoto/Getty Images)
"Okay, if you're someone who has changed the way they present themselves as an adult or transitioned in any way and want to have a moment, say hello to the 12 year old who probably didn't exist," user Worriersmusic said. in a video.
However, filters have been widely criticized for worsening self-esteem problems, and an anti-aging filter in an anti-aging society, particularly for women, seems poised to perpetuate this problem.
A small 2019 study linked the use of social media filters with increased acceptance of cosmetic surgery, while Harvard Business Review researchers found in 2021 that people who are very confident in their appearance may actually be more disturbed by seeing "improvements" in his face compared to those who already had insecurities.
And while the Teenage Look filter may not always be accurate in showing you the before, as many users have noted, it is more natural looking than many of the other beauty filters.
Some users also said that when testing the filter, the signs of aging appear more pronounced in the unfiltered image.
"Seriously, they're making 'now' look worse to make it more dramatic, right? Right?!" mandertok half-jokingly wrote in the video's caption.
AgeFilters
