Is This Really You?

Why use a filter?

It is incredible these days what technology can do, we have entered the world of filters, and in my opinion, it is for the worse. I understand the tradition of makeup; however, filters are a whole other level.

I understand people wanting to dress up and feel their best; in fact, I would encourage it, but have we gone too far as a society? It is modern-day pressure put upon people, leading to other issues.

I remember when the ladies "chicken fillets" came in; from a ladies perspective, it made them feel more comfortable and confident. However, it was a "false advertisement from a man's perspective.

Neither opinion was wrong; makeup was another issue raised in their own way, although I do not have a problem with this myself. Ladies will spend hours getting ready for their night out, making themselves feel attractive.

I would hope their partners made them feel attractive all of the time; ladies removed the makeup then said they didn't feel "like themselves". Would you say makeup shows the "real you?"

I ask this question to the men of the world that wear makeup, too; this is not a gender question; whilst the majority of men do not wear makeup, they still suffer from the same self-conscious issues but have limited ways to hide it.

In my own opinion, I prefer the natural look; take the woman in the photo above, we can see she is wearing red lipstick; although I do not pretend to be an expert, the rest seems pretty natural to me.

I think she looks great, what is your opinion?

The problem I have is the "filter" generation; in a recent study in the UK, 90% of women would not have a picture taken without a filter or makeup, which makes me sad.

The picture here is a woman without makeup and a simple filter added from an iPhone; the contrast is remarkable; I see beauty in both photographs; the problem is one is real, the other fake.

I am not alone in this myself, I wear glasses for reading, on my PC etc., but there will be very few photos with me wearing them, why? Because I am conscious that I look better without them.

I, too, am affected by society and its pressures; what are your thoughts on filters in particular? Because that is my real beef in all of this.

I recently went to an exclusive hotel for a few days away; whilst in a large hot tub, two women took photos of each other and applied filters before uploading them to Instagram.

I asked them why they added filters, and their response was this is how they got followers; if they uploaded "natural" photo's they would not be popular.

I was not rude; my wife and I talked to them for around 20 minutes beforehand and got along very well; they were happy to talk about "how everyone cheats the system". After that, it was just "normal".

I do not try and write controversial topics; they tend to find me; I am keen to hear your opinions on this one; should we accept this is the new normal, or is their hope for our children after all?