The passage of time has always made me a little anxious. I used to cry every year on the night before my birthday — not because I was sad about getting older in and of itself, but because I knew life was always changing. That's pretty dramatic for a nine-year-old, but considering my most-anticipated summer movie of 2023 (Barbie) literally asks, "Do you guys ever think about dying?" it feels pretty on-brand.
Negative Reactions To TikTok's Aging Filter
Since going through college and learning to live on my own, I've gotten more comfortable with the idea of growing old, but there is one recent trend that has really thrown me (and the rest of the internet) for a loop: TikTok's new aging filter.
If you haven't watched the endless videos (or seen the dermatologists explaining why it's accurate...yikes), this new filter on TikTok paints a very realistic portrait of what you could look like in the future. Wrinkles, sagging skin, discoloration — you name it, the filter picks up on it.
What began as a joke has turned into something that's actually somewhat alarming to me because of how vocal everyone is about hating what they look like.
In Kylie Jenner'sTikTokwith the filter, which has 125.4M views, she declares "I don't like it, I don't like it at all." Comments on Jenner's video range from "You'll never age, you'll always be stunning" to "I cried when I saw mine."
On a lighter note, some comments on videos like @jakemydlo10's are making me laugh out loud. Some people exclaim "I look like I'm feeding snow white a poisoned apple" or that "mine looked like i fought in the 2nd world war."
Looking Beyond The Old Age TikTok Filter
And in July 2022, aesthetic injector @np.miranda went viral for making a video about how she would change Stranger Things star Natalia Dyer's face. (Because of the negative response, she deleted the video but you can see a reaction here.)
We're constantly inundated with how-to's and products to stop the aging process, or steps we can take to make us "more beautiful." The wildest product I've seen yet has beenthe straw that supposedly helps you avoid lip wrinkles. Like...come on y'all.
It feels like we're told growing older means we're getting less beautiful, less desirable, and less "useful" — especially as women. I'm constantly hearing that aging is something worth crying over, when it's really something we should celebrate! After all, how can you achieve Coastal Grandmother status if you don't age?
We've spent years curating beauty products and photoshop apps to make sure that we look exactly the way we want to. Because of this, I know firsthand that seeing something uncomfortable makes me want to take off in the other direction. But wrestling with the "why" behind it will teach us way more about ourselves than if we ignore it altogether.
Since trying the aging filter, I've had to ask myself what about it actually makes me uncomfortable. Am I afraid of getting older, or am I afraid of looking "bad"? Am I afraid of what the world could look like in 60 years?
Why We Should Celebrate Aging
Even though the anti-aging market is worth 18.34 billion dollars in 2023, I think the reaction to this filter is directed at more than just physical appearance. There are so many emotions that seeing yourself as an older person could evoke. Maybe it reminds you that time is limited, or you look like a family member you're estranged from. Or it reminds you of the difficulty that aging can bring. The fear of the unknown is a very real thing, and the chaos of life can make us uneasy.
But just like every decade of our lives thus far has brought exciting and alarming things, that's not going to stop after we turn [insert your own dreaded age here]. Aging means you're overcoming milestones and learning how to grow into the best version of yourself.
That's not to say growing old won't come with its own problems, insecurities, or pain. But what stage of life hasn't come with those things?
I think of all the older people in my life and how much I look to their wisdom, their consistency, and their encouragement. As I age, I want to spend time and energy building up the same qualities, not spending all of my resources trying to stave off the inevitable.
Amidst all of the crazy reactions to the filter, it's also created some pretty cool moments on the social app. Creators like @cecilybauchmann are using the filter with their significant others to get a glimpse into their futures (I'm not crying, you are). @cararosedipietro, who's been open about her mother's passing was able to feel close to her mother in a whole new way when she used it.
When I tried the filter, among the gray hair and dark spots, the most prominent feature were wrinkles around my mouth, like I had spent the last 60 years smiling more than anything else — which at the end of the day, will be more important to me than whether or not I look "old."
What do you think about the old age TikTok filter? Check out our email newsletter for more thought-starters and lifestyle pieces.
Lead image via Anastasia Shuraeva/Pexels
