Facetune, Alisha Andrade Finsta, Ann Zasowski……………………………………………………………………….…117

Facetune

Alisha Andrade

Most adolescent life in the western world (and in many other parts of the world) is completely centered on their online presence and social media. Social media and apps like Instagram and TikTok have emphasized personal appearance and the curation of a particular image more than ever before. With this over emphasis on having a ‘perfect’ personal appearance, according to the constantly changing, impossible beauty standards, photo and video editing has become incredibly normalized. One of the most popular, and widely used and known of these photo editing apps is Facetune. Urban Dictionary defines Facetune as, “An app commonly used for editing substandard selfies.” (Facetune, Urban Dictionary) Initially released in 2013, Facetune ranks number 16 amongst all photo and video apps and is rated 4.4 stars out of 5 from its users. The app, made specifically for the editing and enhancement of selfies and other selfportrait photos, provides users with several beauty filters as well as the ability to apply edits such as teeth whitening, removal of blemishes, smoothing out skin, correcting bad lighting, contouring, adding makeup and even adjusting, refining, or resizing shapes or body parts. The popularization of photo editing, specifically with Facetune by celebrities, has turned the app name Facetune into a verb in itself. Instead of claiming to have edited or photoshopped their photos, individuals might say “I facetuned that photo before posting it.” This app, and this term as a verb, has become popularized in recent years by the celebrities who use it including, Tana Mongeau, Khloe Kardashian, Sarah Hyland, and Alex Cooper. (See Tweets below)

What was once left only to professionals and celebrities, photo editing, enhancement, and photoshop, has become increasingly accessible and easy to use. The use of photoshop and photo enhancing apps like Facetune only has negative impacts for its users, and for the audience who consume the altered media assuming its reality. Young girls and women are in a perpetual cycle of consuming altered photos, desiring to look like the individuals in those photos, and then placing those unrealistic standards on themselves. While many say that people should just know and assume pictures on social media have been altered, adolescents who are constantly exposed to this false reality are affected by the pressure to conform to extreme standards of beauty. It is then not uncommon for many adolescent girls to go to extremes to achieve these unrealistic expectations by over exercising, partaking in disordered eating habits, altering their appearance permanently through plastic surgeries, or by photo editing themselves. Apps like Facetune, and the unrealistic expectations they set therefore impact the health and well-being of youth and adolescence.

Learn more about Facetune:

Facetune. Urban Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=FaceTune

Parsa, K., Talati, I., Wang, H., Chu, E., Talakoub, L., & Reilly, M. (2021). Quantitative Analysis of Enhanced Selfies in a Young Adult Population. Facial Plastic Surgery, 37(05), 651–656. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0041-1726313 Skinner, P. (2019). These Instagram Accounts Keep It Real By Showing What Celebs Fake. Daily Beast. Retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/hit-instagram-accounts-reveal-whatcelebs-look-like-withoutfacetune#:~:text=The%20reality%20star%20isn't,the%20art%20of%20the%20FaceTune.

Finsta

Ann Zasowski

In the study of adolescence and health, there are multiple factors that comprise the complicated life of an emerging adult. The influence of platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram on adolescence and health in undeniable, as they can influence a number of factors in life- from sociability to self- image- either in a positive or negative fashion. A word related to social media and adolescence is the term ‘Finsta’. It is a blend of the two words ‘fake’ and

‘Insta(gram)’, indicating the main points of its uses. It refers to a second social media account that a person may have that is often anonymous and less popular than their main account. Individuals are able to post more casually on their Finsta and are able to keep their viewers to a minimum, such as close friends or family, something generally not possible on individuals’ main accounts.

The term Finsta makes a large statement regarding the modern uses and stressors of social media. Often when friending or following people on social media, it is not intended to be a deep commitment or friendship. This results in adolescence accumulating hundreds or thousands of casual followers who they are loosely acquainted with. Having such large numbers of people viewing your everyday life can create a toll on the expectations of yourself and the lifestyle you would like to portray to the world. It is for this reason that social media sites seem to have become a burden on adolescence and their mental health. Having hundreds of followers to potentially scrutinize you and your actions results in a great amount of pressure to constantly perform and display only the best of your life. This also results in a great deal of comparison between the ‘perfection’ of others’ lives versus the reality of your own. It is for this reason that adolescence have been pressured into forming Finsta accounts. It is on these accounts where they have the opportunity to act more genuine on social media, as their follower base is more

indicative of the people who are truly present in their lives and are known on a more personal level.

The concept of a Finsta is also used in the context of trying to hide certain actions from certain individuals. The popularity of Instagram seems to have grown for older adults, meaning that the accounts of adolescence are more commonly being observed by parents now. It is for this reason that adolescents may choose to create a Finsta, in order to have a more private life from their parents. Whether it is because of the constant scrutiny that adolescence seem to receive, or whether it is an attempt to display a more genuine identity that they are afraid to share with their parents, the creation of Finsta accounts provides insight into the more realistic experiences of adolescence. These accounts may also allude to common practices of adolescence that may not be endorsed by parents or the law (ie. underage drinking). The existence of these Finsta accounts show how adolescence have a desire for independence, one that is not monitored or controlled by their parents. Finsta accounts prove an insightful tool in the true adolescent experience and pursuit of independence. Academic resource:

Kang, J., & Wei, L. (2019). Let me be at my funniest: Instagram users’ motivations for using Finsta (a.k.a., fake Instagram). The Social Science Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2018.12.005 Non- academic resource:

Lorenz, T. (2017, May 3). The secret Instagram accounts teens use to share their realest, most intimate moments. Mic. Retrieved November 1, 2022, from https://www.mic.com/articles/175936/the-secret-instagram-accounts-teens-use-to-sharetheir-realest-most-intimate-moments