A filter capable of erasing every aesthetic defect and improving the perception of our image. On Instagramand especially on TikTokit is possible to do it. Since the platform became a sharing and storytelling tool for generation Z and beyond, the creation of filters was born, capable of totaling millions of interactions.
In recent times, more and more companies are requesting filters for social networks, considered a perfect tool to integrate into marketing and advertising campaigns. But how is a filter created and why could it be considered ‘harmful’ for teenagers?
What is a filter
The filters available on social networks such as Instagram and TikTok could be defined as masks or two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects that users can use in their content by modifying, among other things, their own facial aesthetics. And there are those who make them for a living, as ‘Content and Filter creator‘. Letizia Egaddifor example, began to immerse herself in this world in 2020 when the pandemic interrupted, just for a moment, the continuation of her greatest dream: to be an opera singer.
Letizia is her real name, the one that describes her person behind the camera. But she prefers to present herself as ‘Aida Creator’ to distinguish her offline identity from her online one: “During the lockdown I had a lot of free time, and I dedicated it all to the digital world, thus discovering the world of social networks and in particular that of augmented reality”Aida told Adnkronos on the occasion of the event ‘2024 on TikTok‘, which was held in Milan on Thursday 12 December.
What is a ‘Content Creator Filter’
Aida is today ‘Meta Spark Official Partner and ‘Effect House Ambassador’: “It is a market that is still little explored in Italy and I discovered how the world of Digital Marketing needed the creation of augmented reality to increase communication and the visual identity of brands and companies”. Simply put, the creator explains: “A company or brand that needs to communicate a message through the use of social media can turn to me to create a filter, or an augmented reality experience.”
How risky is it to entrust your career to an ever-changing world? “It’s like throwing yourself into a pit, you know where you start but you don’t know where you’ll end up, but that’s also the beauty of it. Instagram, for example, announced that from January 14, 2025 all facial filters will be removed and augmented reality effects, except those owned or acquired by Meta.”
Beauty filters
This change of direction brings to mind the very heated debate regarding the extreme beauty filterswhich plastically modify the characteristics. Filters criticized by many brands, which have spoken out against image distortion on social media. This is because many girls, especially in adolescence, may accuse self-esteem problems, due to the beauty standards that influencers propose on the platforms.
Speaking of this, Aida explains: “Unfortunately, relying on beauty filters that improve our appearance can cause damage. It can be fun to use them, but they must not be used lightly, also to avoid receiving criticism from other users who scroll on the platform and they only see fiction or alteration of reality. Limiting the use of these filters serves to safeguard those who are more fragileand those who have difficulty relating to their own image”, explained Content Filter.
Aida, who has often spread content on social media aimed at explaining how to recognize natural beauty filters from those that make plastic changes to the features, said: “I don’t think that limiting them is the solution, on the contrary. The real solution would be spread awareness which are an instrument of pure entertainment, to be used sparingly, keeping in mind that the reflected image is not reality”.
And he concludes: “Social filters are not just beauty ones. They are only a small part that augmented reality offers, including quizzes, 3D objects, mini games that do not affect the external appearance”.
