Jazmin Barnes, Aiah Nehme and Stella Dadini all admit to using filters on TikTok and Instagram.

When the “Bold Glamour” filter on TikTok was created in early 2023, people were shocked by how seamless it looked, and that it wasn’t glitching like other face-altering filters. Despite everyone admiring its technological improvement, it led to an uproar online and offline, with celebrities like Katherine Heigl showing the shocking difference it made.

It’s been widelyreported that filters on social media can create a disconnect between online and real life and lower one’s self-esteem. The issue doesn’t just affect teens — it can negatively affect anyone. The curation of social media leads many people to use filters in order to receive positive feedback, which then reinforces the belief that we should be relying on them, explained Natalie Buchwald, a therapist and founder of Manhattan Mental Health Counseling.

You can, of course, still use filters and have a healthy self-image, but experts advise considering the reasons you use filters in the first place.

“While occasional use of filters doesn’t inherently indicate low self-esteem, dependence on them can be problematic,” Buchwald said. “Maintaining a healthy self-image involves recognizing one’s intrinsic worth without relying on digital enhancements.”

Long-term exposure to a filtered image of yourself may create issues in your self-image, even leading to seeking cosmetic surgery to achieve that image of yourself. “Often called ‘Snapchat dysmorphia,’ it describes individuals seeking cosmetic surgery to replicate their filtered selfies. This can manifest in body insecurity and dysmorphia,” Buchwald added.

HuffPost spoke to threeinfluencers who regularly use beauty filters to understand why and how these filters affect their self-esteem.

Jazmin Barnes, beauty influencer

“I’m super open about beauty standards, filters and treatments on my page. I use beauty filters pretty often! Most of the time, while filming on TikTok I’m using one because of ease, and sometimes TikTok automatically puts them on your face.

“I prefer filters that don’t make me look like a completely different person. I try to remind myself that skin texture, blemishes, redness, undereye bags are all normal. Most things you see online are very unrealistic and you shouldn’t compare yourself to them.

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