I like Snapchat. In fact, I'd even call myself a Snapchat enthusiast. Since downloading the app a few years ago, I've sent an embarrassingly large number of selfies to friends. Many of these have included some pretty extreme facial contortions (what can I say, I have a pliable face) and/or creative angles, in order to emphasize some underrated, often overlooked features (nostrils, chins, etc). So, with this pre-established dedication to barely recognizable selfies, I was excited about the introduction of Snapchat filters last year, which warp users' faces into a dog, an alien, or a mouse with glasses, among many other creatures (personally, I am a big fan of the scary rabbit). Some of the filters, however, are meant to be pretty rather than goofy. These include flowers in hair with pink tint, flowers in hair with heavy airbrush, and good ole classic airbrush. See below.

Here I am, unfiltered.

Now, transformed into pink flower princess.

Now, airbrushed-lighter flower princess.

Finally, airbrushed to look vaguely alien!

I have a lot of issues with these filters. Not only does Snapchat turn what is supposed to be a fun, silly space into a breeding ground for insecurity, but it perpetuates extremely unrealistic, extremely Eurocentric standards of beauty. In creating these filters, Snapchat bought into a culture that says women need to be photoshopped and retouched in order to be beautiful. Beautiful, in this case, means smaller, thinner, and whiter; if you compare each filtered image above with the first, unfiltered photo, you'll notice these changes. My eyes are suddenly bigger and lighter, my nose thinner and smaller, and my entire face skinnier, lighter, and unfreckled. I no longer look like myself, but then again I am not supposed to.

Media-produced, photoshopped images have been shown to contribute to negative body image in girls and women, a rise in eating disorders, and even health issues in adolescents. These images aren't real, but that knowledge doesn't necessarily lessen their negative effects. I'm disappointed that the folks at Snapchat are perpetuating unhealthy and silly standards of beauty, and I hope they will consider the implications of filtering people into smaller, thinner, whiter versions of themselves. In the meantime, I'll celebrate my unfiltered beauty and goofiness and uniqueness. Or I'll stick to filters like this one.