Google Removed Default Selfie Filters for Pixel Phones to Reduce Unhealthy Comparison
According to Social Media Today, Google moved this week to adjust how it offers editing tools for images taken on its Pixel device.
This is going to be a step in the right direction as far as a lot of social media users are concerned, let's face it. There are a ot of young and otherwise impressionable users on social media and they're often up against unrealistic, heavily doctored versions of people who attract a lot of followers. The concern with that is it's a lot to live up to - and that's been the case for a long time. It's kind of nice to see even the smallest attempt to begin tackling the negative effects of that - and this is still a small attempt, but encouraging all the same:
Authenticity is good for marketing?
Stories do already present a refreshing change from the perfection of highly crafted Instagram selfies, but any moves that go beyond that are probably more than welcome. Stories content is more spontaneous and I'd like to think that makes it more authentic too. For marketers, being able to air-brush stuff is great at times, but do people think social media users get fatigued by so many seemingly perfect worlds? It would be kind of nice to think that authenticity became a thing on social media, and that more consumers paid more than just lip service to that. The medium is supposed to be snippets of our everyday lives, after all. I think it's good to see the platforms making moves to enhance that.
This is going to be a step in the right direction as far as a lot of social media users are concerned, let's face it. There are a ot of young and otherwise impressionable users on social media and they're often up against unrealistic, heavily doctored versions of people who attract a lot of followers. The concern with that is it's a lot to live up to - and that's been the case for a long time. It's kind of nice to see even the smallest attempt to begin tackling the negative effects of that - and this is still a small attempt, but encouraging all the same:
| "We conducted multiple studies and spoke with child and mental health experts from around the world, and found that when people are not aware that a camera or photo app has applied a filter, the photos can negatively impact mental wellbeing. These default filters can quietly set a beauty standard that some people compare themselves against. Starting with the Pixel 4a, the new Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5, face retouching options are available in the camera app, but turned off by default. In an upcoming update, you'll see value-free, descriptive icons and labels for face retouching options. And if you choose to use face retouching effects, you'll see more information about how each setting is applied and what changes it makes to your image." |
Authenticity is good for marketing?
Stories do already present a refreshing change from the perfection of highly crafted Instagram selfies, but any moves that go beyond that are probably more than welcome. Stories content is more spontaneous and I'd like to think that makes it more authentic too. For marketers, being able to air-brush stuff is great at times, but do people think social media users get fatigued by so many seemingly perfect worlds? It would be kind of nice to think that authenticity became a thing on social media, and that more consumers paid more than just lip service to that. The medium is supposed to be snippets of our everyday lives, after all. I think it's good to see the platforms making moves to enhance that.
