by TikTok users of a certain age are getting a big dose of nostalgia with a new trending filter that allegedly turns back the clock to your teenage self.
The Teenage Look, which mostly works by smoothing out wrinkles, has quickly racked up 3.4 million views to date, often set to the tune from The Verve Pipe’s 1996 alt heartbreak “The Freshmen.” However, while baby face filters and aging filters have made the rounds on social media platforms for the simple novelty of seeing yourself momentarily travel back in time, many of the teen filter posts featuring the top preferences are dark, as users say they get a flashback to some of their most formative years.
While some TikTokers keep it open by showing real photos of their teenage selves (hello, ex-kids with bad hair) others use the filter to talk about their lack of confidence in high school or difficult experiences they faced, using split screens of before and after to give life advice to their ‘younger’ selves.
While many of the posts with tears and shocked faces may be performative for the sake of virality (it is TikTok, after all), there’s something unsettling about being able to see a face that hasn’t looked back at you in a mirror for quite some time. Some users have discussed how the filter fueled old feelings related to trauma they experienced during those years, while others said it gives trans and non-binary people a chance to see a younger self that matches their gender identity.
When applying the filter, some users also commented that signs of age appear more prominently in the unfiltered image.
“Seriously, they make ‘now’ look worse to make it more dramatic, right? Right?!” mandertok half-jokingly wrote in the caption of the video.
(tagsTo Translate)beauty
