Journal5 BrettSmith

This image was taken from SWGfL. I chose this image because it represents the different layers of filters and how they can change the appearance of the person. This is identity supported because it is not taken seriously, you can still tell who the person is, they just have a big filter distorting the image.

This image was found from, TheTab. It is meant to represent the age change filter through Snapchat, being able to see what you could potentially look like in the future. This is identity supported because you can clearly see the manipulation in the image and it is not meant to promote the subject.

This image was taken from National post. I chose this image because it shows how the pictures are taken. Even though a filter might be used, there are real people taking the photos.

This image was taken from a screen grab from a YouTube video. This image shows a person using snapchat to hide their identity, hardly being able to tell what the person actually looks like.

This image was taken from, The Sun. It is meant to show how bad photoshop skills were used to digitally manipulate this persons body to look a different way, not supporting their current identity.

AI and face recognition software makes it possible to change the physical appearance of someone through the use of social media apps. Adding a filter to someone’s face can change their appearance, manipulating their age, weight, and other physical features. Apps such as Snapchat gives the user the ability to alter their appearance and send it to their friends and connections through the app itself. When their friend receives the message, they can clearly see the alterations but have a hard time looking past them to see their actual facial features.
The same thing can be seen in commercials and advertisements with models. The majority of advertisers use tools such as photoshop to alter their appearance, making them look perfect. Not being in that industry, from the outside looking in, seeing these people in advertisements can make people feel bad about themselves. With constant exposure, it can be easy for a young person to confuse what they see in the magazines with reality. Because we only see attractive, well-dressed people in the media, it could be easy to confuse what you see, with what really is.

With Snapchat, it can be strange to see images of what you might look like in the future, or what you might have looked like in the past, and how this software is so easily accessible. This is a fun, not serious way for people to try on a different face. It is not meant to be taken seriously, because no one looks like that (as shown in the ‘identity supported’ gallery). That is part of the reason why the filter looks so obvious. Apps like this allow the user to create a version of themselves that otherwise would not be available. Although this is before my time, this software was not available to the general public twenty years ago. It is such a new and improving technology that will only get better over time, but has hit the ground running with its success.

As far as the media goes, altering images for magazines, advertisements, and other publications have been happening for a while. Digitally manipulating images is something that has been done forever, and will more than likely continue to be done.

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