Confession time: for as long as technology has allowed, I’ve edited my photos. Back in 2009, I’d take my digital camera to a house party and the next day upload 500+ photos to a Facebook album with an obscure song lyric as its title. Each photo had a horrific amount of flash on to eliminate all facial features, while my hot pink Fujifilm camera even had a “skin blemish remover” filter that made everyone look like they had a thick film of sweat across their face.

Then there was Macbook’s Photobooth allowing you to transform images of yourself into pencil drawings, pop art and comic books – or of course the novelty face warps of “Chipmunk,” “Space Alien,” and “Frog.” While seemingly harmless, this was just the beginning of what would end up becoming my obsession with filters.

Fast-forward a few years: I was 19 and far more self-conscious and self-aware than ever before. My use of social media was at an all-time-high, and I was desperately trying to fit into university life, navigating both online and offline connections. This was around the same time a new app would launch – changing my perception of reality for good… FaceTune.

“I edited myself in every photo for years. Now I’ve forgotten what I really looked like”