Hello there. In between my guest chats, you know I do love to ask a big question. There's
things that I will talk about with you that have been on my mind. They might be something
that's circulating around in my life, in my head. I might be chatting with my friend or
with my amazing producer, Nick McClure, who really is the brains behind this podcast.
But that is what I'm going to do for you now with my big question. Are social media
filters harmful or helpful? I'm a big fan of a social media filter. I mean, I'm a huge
social media user. I love it. I love social media. It's a way that I connect with people.
It's a way I can have a laugh. And it's also a way that I can find out what else is happening
in my wider world. And dare I say, it's also a way for me to keep an eye on what my teenagers
are up to. They're big TikTok users. I'm a late adapter to TikTok, but I love it. I have
so much fun on that platform. I like to dive deep and find out all of this amazing stuff.
I mean, my daughters will say to me, they'll look at my For You page. And for those of
you who aren't familiar with what that means, it's essentially the algorithm popping up
to you what it is that you like to look at within my For You page. These filters have
been popping up that are called things like the Bold Glamour Filter. I encourage you to
have a bit of a look at it. And you can have a think about, is this harmful or helpful
using this Bold Glamour Filter? Well, my producer and I, Nick, used it. And we thought it was
We couldn't stop laughing because we don't look like ourselves. Essentially, the filter
means you look a little like a Kardashian. And I know you know I love the Kardashians.
I'm all team Kardashian. I don't want to look like one though. So I put this Bold Glamour
Filter on. And suddenly, I look like a 52-year-old Bratz doll with a lot of false eyelashes and
very white shiny teeth. And my beautiful producer, Nick, didn't really look like herself. She
just looked very smooth. In a strange way though, in sort of a glossy glad wrap way.
No one wants to look like they're wrapped in glad wrap. So for us, we didn't think that
this particular filter was harmful or helpful, to be honest. I mean, it did help us have
a laugh and think this is pretty hilarious, that suddenly this is how we look if we were
to really kind of glam up and have all sorts of things done to our face. But perhaps what
is important to keep in mind is, is there an impact on younger people using these sorts
of filters? Do they put these filters on and think, oh, what's wrong with me? I'm sure
you could say there are some people who might feel inadequate when they look at this sort
of airbrushed image and how they look in real life. I would argue though, we don't give
teenagers enough credit. My teenage daughters are smart and savvy. They've been using all
types of filters for many years. They know that they're not a cat or a Dalmatian dog.
They used those filters when they were smaller. They know that. They just have a bit of a
laugh when they use these filters. So at the same time, when they put on a bold glamour
filter, I think they go, oh, check myself out here. But I don't think that necessarily
then equates to I need to look like this. I'm going to take this huge leap to suddenly
do plastic surgery and not look like myself anymore. So again, I don't think these filters
are harmful. What do you think? I know that you like to hop onto my Insta and onto my
messages. I'd love to know if you think such filters are harmful. Of course though, there
are some people who you see talk about the filters and then saying, oh, I need to go
and get this done to my face. I'm going to go and do this. Has the filter made them do
it or were they already considering that or were they already looking at ways to make
themselves feel better? And you know I'm all for that in the sense of I get Botox. I like
to get eyelash extensions when I have the time. I get my eyebrows done. I dye my hair
any number of different colours of the rainbow. I do all of that because it does make me feel
better. It doesn't make me feel whole, but it makes me feel better and brighter. I'm
not feeling forced to do it because of a social media filter and I think it is too
simplistic to simply say people are doing these things because a social media filter
made them do it. Let's look at all of these other factors within society, with our peer
groups, with other sorts of media, with things we're watching on Netflix, with discussions
we're having with people. There's not just one thing that you can say is leading to
people being more obsessed with their appearance. You know there's another filter that's called
the teenage look filter. Now do we think this filter is harmful or helpful? I've read about
some people crying when they use this filter on social media. Okay, this teenage filter,
this s*** is f***ed up. I cannot, I just, I, I, what? This filter, this filter needs
to be incorporated into therapy or something. Whoa, why does this like kind of low key make
me sad and creep me out? I used it and so did my producer Nick and we cried, but we
cried with laughter because first of all we couldn't tell the difference because we had
to put our glasses on so we're trying to see what is the difference here and then we looked
and again we looked at ourselves and thought no, that is not us as a teenager. I mean I
looked like a little boy, no problems with that, but I mean I didn't look like a boy
when I was a teenager. We simply looked peculiar and so that was what for us was funny. So
was that helpful? It was probably helpful to make us have a laugh. Did it harm us in
any way? No, it didn't. I can understand though why some people may have cried because
there's also music that you can apply with these filters. They actually come with the
filter and I know for me music is very visceral. It does evoke so much memory and you're suddenly
back to those teenage times. So I get why perhaps if people are listening to songs that
they would listen to as teenagers, they see a face that's not their face anymore and they
think that could be me as a teenager and then they are reminiscent of those years and
being a teenager is the pits, isn't it? I don't want to go back there. So they could
have been tearful because it reminded them of some challenging times, but then hey there
are some teenagers where that was the best time of their life. They wish they could go
back there when life was simpler, when it was less complicated, when there weren't
the pressures of the world on their shoulders. So hey, could we then say that that social
media filter, the teenage look filter is helpful? It's helpful for people to remind themselves
of those particular times. We're always looking I think for different touch points. Is that
the word or is it maybe touchstones? Maybe it's touchstones in our lives to get us out of our
heads to suddenly daydream, imagine, think about happier times, lighter times, different moments
in our life. So if a social media filter is doing that for you, I think that is helpful. Again,
let's keep in mind this is entertainment. To me TikTok is all about entertainment.
It's how we can escape from the world. We can have a laugh. We can see what other people are
getting up to. So it's entertaining. Perhaps sometimes we need to take a step back as well.
Often there is this moral panic around social media. Oh, doom and gloom and oh, it's the end
of the world because of social media. No, I think that's far too simplistic and it's also ignoring
that idea of for many people, especially young people, that is how they navigate through the
world. That's how they communicate with one another. That's how they inform themselves.
That's how they make sense of who they are. It's how they entertain themselves. It's how
they have a laugh. So we can't discount all of that. So yet again, I would argue that social
media filters are not harmful. Could we say yes, they are helpful for some younger people
in the sense of it's a way of reaching out to one another. It doesn't have to always be some
deep and meaningful thing. Even though you know I love to make things deep and meaningful,
much too often both of my daughters horror with mum. Why is this a lesson now? Why are you telling
us a social media lesson? We know more about social media than you and you don't even do
the trends properly. Giselle, who's 13, she's at that very much that point where she rolls
her eyes and she goes, mum, you just don't get it. And I'm like, well, what? What don't I get? Tell
me. If I have to explain, then you really don't get it. I'm just not going to explain. And I think,
come on, please teach me because let's face it, I reckon our kids can teach us and do teach us
so much. So have I taught you anything today with the big question, are social media filters
harmful or helpful? You've heard from me, I'm on the fence with this. Well, actually, no,
I'm not on the fence. I'm like Humpty Dumpty. I've fallen off that wall and I'm going to say
they're helpful. And if they're not helpful, they're actually a bit of a hoot. They make me laugh.
They make me sort of look and think, oh my God, how ridiculous, but they make me smile.
So that is my take on the latest and greatest social media filters that perhaps your kids or
people you know might be using. So why don't, rather than me thinking I've got to give my
daughters a lesson, let's teach each other here. And why not say to them, hey, have you tried the
bold glamour filter? Why not have a conversation about them with it and say, hey, show me how to
use it or I've used it. What do you think? And that, I think this is a light bulb moment for me
as I'm talking to you. I think that's probably the key. Why not do it with your kids? See what
they think. See where that conversation takes you about what they think of the filter, what you think
about the filter. So anything that I think encourages conversation, thoughtfulness and a sense of,
well, what does this mean in your life? How does it make you feel? How does it make me feel?
I'm all for. Are social media filters harmful or helpful? My answer is helpful. I'd love to know
what you think. I'll be back next week with another beautiful big conversation with one of
my guests. Until then, have a ball using the bold glamour filter, the teenage look filter.
Crank up some of those tunes from the 80s. All of my love.