Likely Normal

Have you fallen down the digital filter rabbit hole, where a few taps can transform us from sleep-deprived mortals into ethereal beings with flawless skin, anime eyes, and cheekbones sharp enough to slice cheese. Sure, it’s fun at first—until you realize you’ve spent 45 minutes trying to make your real face look like the Snapchat puppy version of yourself.

Filters are like digital Botox—they smooth out wrinkles, plump lips you don’t have, and give you a jawline that defies genetics. The problem? The more you use them, the more your actual reflection starts to feel like a personal insult. “Why don’t I look like this in the mirror?” Because, my friend, the mirror doesn’t come with a “Fantasy Mode” toggle.

Filters don’t just enhance reality—they replace it, making us all unwitting participants in a mass delusion where everyone online looks like a Sims character who maxed out the attractiveness slider. Meanwhile, in real life, we’re just out here with pores, asymmetrical eyebrows, and the occasional rogue chin hair.

The worst part? We start believing the lie. You post a filtered selfie and get likes, so your brain goes: “Ah, yes. This is what I truly look like.” Then, when you catch your real face in a bathroom mirror under fluorescent lighting, it’s a jump scare. “Who is this tired gremlin staring back at me?” That’s you, buddy. Unfiltered. Unedited. Unprepared for the harsh truth.

Filters don’t just warp your self-image—they warp everyone else’s too. You scroll through Instagram and see nothing but poreless skin, perfect lighting, and eyes that sparkle like a Twilight vampire. Meanwhile, you’re sitting there with a zit the size of Mount Everest and eyebags so dark they could store secrets.

It’s like we’re all trapped in a collective fever dream, pretending we woke up like this. Newsflash: Nobody wakes up looking like an Instagram filter. Not even influencers.

The real danger isn’t just vanity—it’s that we’re training ourselves to reject reality. Why deal with imperfections when you can just slap a filter on and pretend they don’t exist? It’s the digital equivalent of putting a sheet over a messy room and calling it “minimalist decor.”

Eventually, we forget what real faces look like. We start thinking normal skin texture is a flaw. That natural lighting is “harsh.” That we’re supposed to look airbrushed 24/7. Spoiler: We’re not. Humans are lumpy, asymmetrical, and occasionally shiny. And that’s okay.
The Filter Detox

So here’s a radical idea: Let’s log off the fantasy. Post an unfiltered selfie. Let your skin breathe (digitally and literally). Embrace the chaos of being an actual human instead of a smoothed-out, big-eyed, virtual mannequin.

Because the best filter of all? Reality. (Even if it occasionally includes a surprise chin pimple.)