Just a few days ago, Tiktok announced that it would control the 'beauty filter' and 'body filter' for users aged 13 to 18 years. ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is going to adopt such a policy keeping in mind the mental health of children and teenagers.

It is said that the company is going to ban the use of these filters because teenagers are not aware of the effects of using them.

With this kind of control, Tik Tok users cannot use the 'beauty filter' to make eyes bigger, increase lip thickness, make skin look smooth, change skin color, change face shape and make the face look like it is made up. A large group of users seem to be unaware of the psychological impact of apps used for

TikTok or other filters. The data shows that the use of the 'Bold Glamor Filter' in Tik Tok videos, which is about to be controlled, has exceeded 264 million so far.

But, what is the effect on the user of using the filter like this? In 2020, some researchers from the City University of London studied the negative effects of beauty and body filters on mental health. The

study has mentioned that there is excessive use of filters such as making the skin color fairer, making the skin brighter, whitening the teeth, making the body look thinner, adjusting the shape of the chin, making the nose smaller, and making the eyes and lips look bigger.

In the study conducted on 175 girls with an average age of 20 years, 90 percent of them use filters or 'edit' their photos and 94 percent said that they do this because of the pressure to look good.

Even in 2021, a survey conducted by an organization called "Parents Together" among 200 teenagers in the age group of 13 to 21 years of America, also presented the conclusion that 48 percent use "beauty filter" at least once a week. In which one out of five people said that they use such filters in every post.

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63 percent of teenagers use filters to look better than their real face, 58 percent to hide parts of the face they don't like, and 52 percent to change the shape of the face, according to the survey.

The survey also found that beauty filters have a negative impact on teenage self-confidence. 61 percent said using a beauty filter made them look worse in real life. "TikTok and Snapchat filters make me feel bad," said a teenager.

The use of such filters, which give importance to artificial beauty over real beauty, seems to be creating dissatisfaction and pressure in the minds of teenagers. which has affected their mental health.

'When I was in secondary school, I began to search for my self-worth according to society's standards of beauty. I used filters every day and pressured myself to have a perfect body,' said a teenager between the ages of 16 and 17, 'this pressure was reinforced by social media and beauty filters, which gave me an 'eating disorder'.' They said that the use of filters from a young age creates a negative body image, reduces self-confidence, and makes people feel ashamed of unfiltered photos. In an article on beauty filters by Jennifer Sullivan in New York's 'The Cut' magazine, Northwestern University psychology professor Renee Engeln says photo filters are more harmful to teenage girls.

EngelN says, "Usually we compare ourselves to others, but we compare ourselves to different versions of ourselves through a filter that is more harmful. It creates a sense that we can be different from what we are. And beauty makes you spend a lot of time and money trying to reach a standard.

is sought The more people engage in self-objectification, the more they are unable to feel their emotions and feelings.' has shown

In Nepal, no studies have been conducted on the effects of beauty filters, but the studies conducted in other countries are relevant here as well. Psychiatrist Dr. Arun Kunwar argues. She says that since the introduction of the beauty filter, the idea of ​​what an ideal body should be for teenagers has changed and everyone has started seeing her as bad.

The filter creates dissatisfaction by developing the thought that I am not good, my life is not good, my face is not good. Among the reasons for this are social media platforms where filters and such content are visible," says Kunwar. "People who feel bad about themselves start feeling better about themselves if they don't use social media for a few weeks. That is why children should not be exposed to social media too much.

Clinical psychologist Hasana Shrestha says that there is a cycle of using filters.

A person who accepts his physical form in the society also has self-acceptance. But those who frequently compare their appearance, do not even have self-acceptance,' Shrestha says, 'These filters have become like a tool to get validation from society, to see themselves only through the lens of weakness. After using it, the real look is more pleasing. Self-acceptance decreases even more. In Shrestha's understanding, using a filter means staying away from reality. She explains that using a filter that looks good for a short period of time will develop a bad pattern. "Whatever children do from a young age, their thinking develops in the same way. Therefore, if children look at themselves through the lens of the beauty filter from a young age, they develop the belief that they should be like that," said Shrestha.