They have fixed at least one flaw that I pointed out in a previous blog post 3 reasons why the ( EWG is a dubious source). FaceApp isn’t provoking any deep realisations like we’re all heading to the same destination, albeit on different boats, some rickety, some smooth, and how we look really doesn’t matter.The EWG gets a lot of criticism for flaws in their database, but I have to give them credit where credit is due. Their curiosity sated, it’s back to the far more uplifting BeautyApp, that has the magical ability to make a pimple vanish off a nose. However, most appear merely bemused by the sight of themselves as individuals with metaphorical walking sticks. The mere image of our wrinkled, battered selves should spur us into better time management and give us a new perspective on the importance of the here and now. If nothing else, FaceApp certainly hits home about ageing being around the corner, arriving faster than we can finish everything we set out to do. Youth may be wasted on the young but the view of old age by the young should prompt a little existential angst, surely. The popularity of FaceApp suggests that we simply cannot resist a narcissistic peek at our own decline, though seen from the vantage point of middle age it still feels distant, like something that happens to other people. So then, what explains the lure of an app that makes us see ourselves in an unflattering light, and forces us, in a sense, to contend with our own mortality? Realms have been written on how the Instagram generation has contributed to the beauty industry, the desire for the perfect photograph spawning businesses in coloured contacts and 500 dollar creams made of seaweed extract sought from the depths of the Norwegian Sea. On social media, youngsters spend painstaking hours figuring out the tricks of lighting and exposure with the hundreds of filters that make blemishes and dark circles disappear. The use of botox, collagen shots and fillers is on the rise to push an idealised standard of beauty that revolves around, you guessed it, youth. Indian cinema or Hollywood, both are defined by 20-somethings. How is one to make sense of the fact that the whole world was seeking out this experience of seeing our future faces, that we try, fervently and everyday - through diet, exercise and anti-aging products - not to become? It’s not news that society is obsessed with youth. We can be sure that in keeping with the unwritten but accepted rules of social media - people present a curated and glamorous avatar - FaceApp, too, is showcasing a best case scenario of what we’ll be a few decades hence. My future self displayed my teeth more prominently and made my hair frizzier. ![]() Is FaceApp accurate? Who knows, but the results seem convincing. Everywhere online, I could see posts of my friends and acquaintances, inexplicably and proudly, sharing an image of their 80-year-old selves. And voila! The users are provided with a disconcerting glimpse of what they’ll look like in their old age. How is one to make sense of the fact that the whole world was seeking out this experience of seeing our future faces, that we try, fervently and everyday - through diet, exercise and anti-aging products - not to become?ĭespite well-publicised concerns that our personal information was being compromised, over a hundred million people downloaded FaceApp that uses artificial intelligence to alter an image in seconds.
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