It's just a fun filter, what's the problem?

[Birdsweepsin]

twitter.com/memotv/status/1628759316206350340?s=20

I really hope I'm overreacting.

This is a new AI filter becoming hugely popular on tik tok.

Transforms older faces into young-looking ones.

I'm being slightly circumspect about the implications because I don't want this thread deleted, and I should be clear that so far I have absolutely no evidence that my fears (about who might choose to use this technology, and for what reasons) are happening.

But it appears to be the next logical step in people changing something absolutely fundamental about who they are vs how they identify.

I did initially think that photo filters to make you look younger have been around for ages.

But seeing this I think that it'll make certain people's already horrible jobs a lot harder - to establish who is involved. And the implications of that.

Very easy way for adults posing as children grooming online to continue the charade. Not over reacting at all.

There was a hard hitting but useful segment on woman's hour yesterday about the massive rise in online abuse during lockdown as not only were kids at home and online more, so we're the abusers.

Oh yes @AmuseBish I hadn't even thought about that implication

That's actually quite terrifying. I note that they don't do neck or hands yet, but I'm sure it won't be long.

Jesus that thread is just full of people gazing adoringly at themselves while weepy music plays, I can’t cope with the self-obsession sometimes. Ok, have a try of it on your own and feel a bit nostalgic but why upload it to the world? I also agree this could be used for v dodgy purposes.

It is a massive worry. Kids are too vulnerable online. Mine are older now but I had years of constantly trying to put safe measures in place and trying to keep up with what they accessing. I feel for parents now trying to keep their kids safe.

That’s well creepy. So much misery and regret OR bizarre self admiration (as one Mumsnetter memorably described Shon Faye, like a budgie pecking at it’s own reflection in a mirror).

The only one I saw that seemed healthy was the mum and daughter where the daughter looked surprised/pleased/confused at how much she and her age regressed mum looked alike.

This is a tool that Paedos are gonna love.

I show my DD’s selected posts from the Instagram V Reality subreddit. It’s a great reminder that people do not look the way they pretend to look online (my original intent was to preserve their own self esteem but I can see it’s probably useful for general skepticism too).

Bad enough when people post ten year old photos on online dating apps:

Two major problems with this. One is that people with nefarious intentions will find it a hell of a lot easier to groom kids and teenagers online.

And the two, That is going to be utterly fucking shit for an awful lot of people's mental health. Imagine making videos of yourself as a younger person and then having to see yourself in a mirror and realise that you are a wizened version of the you that you are getting used to. I see it already with some friends who use de-aging filters on photos and videos of themselves. They are trying to display themselves as younger to the world and it's really not mentally healthy. I mean I get it, I'm middle-aged. I have lines that I wish I didn't. I use some serums at night in the hope of lessening them. I eat and exercise with an eye on foods and protocols that are known to slow ageing. But at least that's still real me. I feel strong and mostly very positive about how I'm ageing. Faking it with filters has the opposite effect.

I really do believe that filters/photo editing apps are a massive contributor (perhaps even a cause) to mental health conditions such as body dysmorphic disorder, OCD, social anxiety and even agoraphobia (how can you confidently go out and about in the world when you don’t anything like the person you present on social media?)

There are loads of accounts on Reddit (mostly male) who outright state that the gender swap filters made them want to transition. I wonder if there is even a new form of purely digital AGP (pretending to be a woman online via gaming, avatars and filters until the online persona becomes more important than the real world person? Falling in love with one’s own fake internet person?)

Yeah this is fine. Can't see anyone using this for nefarious intentions!!
🤔

Ohhh great! Another took for creepy online peado predators

So far (as far as I'm aware) the filter is not available to users in the UK. Reading some comments on TikTok it also seems that not everyone in the US can access it as well. Not sure why.

Oh but back to the point. TikTok aside, yes it's scary that this type of technology is available.

Just adding to the increasing use of things like deep fakes etc. soon we won't know what's real and not.

I really agree. I realized that my phone came with some inbuilt filters and played with them out of curiosity. At first the one called something like the 'beauty' filter - which made my eyes massive, my skin look like plastic and my chin teeny tiny - looked laughable to me but within about 10 minutes of playing about with it it looked more 'normal' to me and my own actual face suddenly looked pretty awful. There must be a real impact of doing that all the time. Plus so many people still don't realize how much of what they see is heavily filtered (a lot of people still don't seem to realize that you can do it for videos), which again really distorts views of what 'average' people look like.

I got a new smartphone last year. And took a photo of myself to check out the camera.

I was using it straight out of the box, no fiddling with settings.

God I look well. Thought I. Which was a shock as a look in the mirror confirmed i looked my usual pile of crap.

The camera's default setting was the beauty filter or some such crap.

I do now also have a very nice photo of me with a pair of ears and a nose like a 🐁 with Christmas edging and soft focus. Look it took me a while to find just normal bogstandard this is a true reflection of you filter!

I tried it earlier - wouldn't work on android but did on apple.

Interesting, I have an iPhone but didn’t work on mine

Works on mine. I loved it. My daughter and laughed at how much I looked like her!