Filters have become a popular way to edit photographs, especially for those who wish to keep up with ever-higher standards of beauty in the social media world.
A recent survey, conducted by Girlguiding, found that one third of girls and young women will not post selfies online without using a filter to change their appearance.
39% of 1,473 respondents, aged 11 to 21, said they felt upset that they couldn't look the same in real life as they did online.
The survey results reflect the concerns of curved makeup artist and model Sasha Pallari, who recently launched the hashtag #filterdrop in hopes of seeing "truer skin" on Instagram.
"I just thought, 'Does anyone realize how dangerous this is?'" She said, recounting the moment she noticed that a global beauty brand had reposted filtered content from an influencer advertising her products.
"I don't want kids growing up thinking they're not good enough because of what they see on social media."
The 28-year-old from Bristol turned to her Instagram feed to post an "online rant". He got such a huge response that he created the #filterdrop campaign.
"At that moment it blew up. Seeing a realistic and honest thread of photos was just phenomenal," said Miss Pallari.
It asks people to upload unfiltered photos to their Instagram accounts and "rate who they are above what they look like".
"We just don't see enough normal skin," he said.
"It's okay for me to put a photo without makeup and without using a filter, but for some of these women who did ... well, one said it was scarier than having a baby."
Elementary school teacher Katie McGrath has been following Miss Pallari on social media for about a year.
He never thought his night streaming on Instagram would enter his profession, but this summer it happened.
"Towards the end of the lockout period, I received an email from a parent highlighting their concerns about a change in their children's behavior," said Ms. McGrath.
"The e-mail went on to say that the child was having problems with his physical appearance. I was surprised. This child is four, only four years old.
"Then it made me feel a deep sense of sadness, the fact that at such a young age our children are becoming aware of their physical appearance."
The 29-year-old from Cwmbran, South Wales found that the pupil was watching makeup tutorials on social media.
"[She] she told me about not loving her face without makeup and wanting to change the color of her hair.
"This is where #filterdrop came in and saved me.
"I felt I could talk to the learner about self-confidence from everything I was trying to personally take on board from the campaign."
The four-year-old then asked Miss McGrath why she was wearing makeup every day - a question she couldn't answer.
The following week, she went to school with a "natural naked face".
"I couldn't have done it without the confidence that Sasha's campaign has given me," she said.
Miss McGrath is just one of hundreds of women who responded to Miss Pallari's campaign with their own stories.
The model says they gave her the strength to keep trying to tackle a problem she once thought was "too big" to address.
Miss Pallari's video of the #filterdrop campaign on Instagram was seen by almost 50,000 people.
It was inundated with messages from supporters, many of whom didn't realize how attached they were to filters until they were challenged not to use them.
One woman who responded, a 33-year-old mum from Glasgow, had stopped letting other people take her picture about three years ago, around the same time she started watching and following many fitness and fitness influencers. beauty.
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"I really wanted to be one of the women who supported what Sasha is doing, but when I opened my camera I burst into tears because I felt physically ill at the person staring at me," she said.
"The idea that this image is out there for people to judge and compare with heavily altered images is not something I could bear."
The NHS worker said she has a history of relationships involving physical, psychological and emotional abuse and that "her self-esteem is not where it needs to be."
"There are so many people who feel like me, heavily addicted to filters and who set a course of dysmorphism," he said.
"Mental health should be the focus of national attention; we have no excuse for not knowing how these unhealthy representations could potentially trigger and negatively impact our young people."
Another of Miss Pallari's followers, Aunt Hutchings, said: "Sasha started sharing stuff about a drop filter campaign on her Instagram and I realized I literally hated my face, one without makeup and two without a filter.
"I've seen so many beautiful girls or models on social media with perfect skin, perfect nose, perfect figures. I have freckles, sun damage pigmentation and had a baby," said the 27-year-old.
"At first I didn't have the courage to participate, then one night this huge and overwhelming feeling hit me, that I was afraid of my real face.
"I have an 18-month-old daughter. If I can't share a photo of my face without makeup and filters, how can I expect her to love her as she should?
"That thought broke my heart."
Ms. Pallari hopes the campaign will have three results: that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) require social media influencers to declare whether they have used a filter to promote cosmetics; remove face change and morph filters from Instagram; and to "see more real skin on Instagram".
"The [use of] filters are often not declared, so people are left thinking "why don't I look like this?" and it is because the truth is not being sold, "said Miss Pallari.
He doesn't want to see the end of the filters, but said some face transformation filters "shouldn't exist".
"One of the newer ones I found slimmed my nose, slimmed my face and was so realistic," she said.
"I never thought my nose was big, and I'm looking at this and thinking 'maybe it's big' ... so how bad will it be for someone with less confidence?
"On social media we have a responsibility to make that change, we're choosing what to put there.
"If these filters need to be declared, the loop could be broken."
Miss Pallari does not want to "name and shame" companies that use filters, but instead sent direct messages to brands that used filters or reposted photos in which a filter was used.
He said there had been a mixed response.
The ASA confirmed that, following contact with Miss Pallari, it was investigating whether the use of filters in Instagram ads "misleadingly exaggerated the effectiveness of cosmetic products."
He added: "While it's perfectly legitimate for influencers to use the post-production style in ads, it's important that filters don't misleadingly exaggerate what products can achieve. We'll publish our survey results in due course."
When contacted for comment on the negative effect of filters on Instagram, the social media platform said it had been working on measures to help reduce social pressure, including testing the removal of "likes" to minimize. the culture of confrontation and looking at research and trends in order to adapt its policies "if necessary".
In a statement, he said, "We want AR (augmented reality) effects to be a safe and positive experience for our community while allowing creators to express themselves.
"That's why we allow people to create and use face-altering effects on Instagram, but we don't recommend them in our Effects Gallery, which is the number of people who discover them."
Responding to the comments, Miss Pallari said: "It's a shame that there isn't enough recognition yet of how dangerous the face swap and morph filters are, regardless of whether they're shown in the Effects Gallery or not. They can. still be found very easily just by tying in simple words like "beautiful".
"Filters are more commonly used by creators and influencers with larger platforms, reaching people far more impressionable about their stories than searching for a filter.
"I hope it won't be long before we take responsibility for how much losing a nose in less than five seconds is causing prolific damage to our confidence."