“They are an ecosystem of unprecedented aesthetic pressure”

Technology has shaped the way we interact with the world and, by extension, with ourselves. For decades, the debate about unrealistic beauty standards focused on traditional photographic retouching to remove the wrinkles of age or stylize the figure to fit into what is conceived as the ‘model’ body. However, the arrival of artificial intelligence has changed the rules of the game and we are no longer passive spectators of unattainable bodies, but now we have algorithms in our pockets that, in real time, return to us an artificially “optimized” version of our own face.

They are studying it. Empirical research has begun to isolate the specific effect of AI-based filters versus mere social media exposure. A robust study published in it Journal of Consumer Behavior analyzed almost 800 users in two phases and identified the exact mechanism of the psychological damage generated by AI and the false reality into which it puts us.

In this case, the use of beauty filters that have AI behind them generates a direct drop in our own self-esteem and increases rejection of our current body image. The reason for this stands out in the “discrepancy theory” as the AI ​​creates a hyper-realistic “ideal self”, and when the camera is turned off, there is an anxiety-inducing clash between the algorithmic version and the “real self”.

New terms. This phenomenon has led the medical literature to coin a new clinical term: filter dysmorphia. Here is a review that synthesized 18 studies from the last two decadesconcluded that the amplification of unrealistic ideals by AI and filters in general is triggering not only body dissatisfaction, but also eating disorders and anxiety and depression. And, as expected, the most vulnerable groups are adolescents and young adults.

A new evolution. Until now we could see how technology offered us filter tools to improve our beauty and look more beautiful in photographs or videos. But now AI has become a facial evaluation tool. That is to say, there are people who submit to the scrutiny of artificial intelligence to know if they are handsome or ugly, internalizing the machine’s gaze in case many ‘defects’ begin to appear.

Internalizing this speech directly correlates with low self-esteem and an increase in compulsive behaviors to improve your appearance.

There is no neutrality. Here, a study from 2025 shows us as important data that 82% of images generated by AI lack cultural inclusivity. This means that aesthetic evaluation models such as SCUT or MEBeauty They present significant disparities and ethical biases, causing AI to impose culturally restrictive ideas of beauty.

It has impact. To measure it, Dove’s 2024 macroscopic report, carried out on 33,000 people in 20 countries, provides figures that contextualize the severity of this aesthetic pressure. For example, it is projected that 90% of online content will in the future be generated or altered by AI, but it is also suggested that 2 out of 5 women would be willing to give up a year of their life in exchange for achieving the “ideal body.”

This exposure to “digitally curated beauty,” mediated by social media algorithms, has consequences in the physical world, as a 2024 systematic review established a clear causal line: body dissatisfaction derived from these digital ecosystems pushes 70% of young women and 60% of young men to seriously consider undergoing cosmetic surgery.

The experts They agree on the great problem involved in the use of AI for these purposes of seeking rational beauty and making decisions based on what the machine says. This is something we find in statements by Nuria Oliver, doctor in artificial intelligence from MIT, for El Paíswhich points to the following:

“Its impact on aesthetic violence operates on at least three interrelated levels: the active definition of canons of beauty, the modulation of the visibility of content and the incorporation of aesthetic bias in analysis and decision-making systems. All three are worrying; together, they constitute an ecosystem of unprecedented aesthetic pressure.”

Images | Kevin Costello

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