AI - The next unhealthy social media trend

Ok, you guys, I need to address this new AI trend. It CREEPS ME THE FUCK OUT! I was weirded out by filters, but this is on a whole other level. I am not judging anyone who is jumping in and trying it, because I would love to see myself as a magical fairy too, but I am very concerned about our society’s mental health and the waves that will come from another layer of looking outside ourselves for perfectionism.

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The CDC states that teen suicides have increased more than 30% between 2007 and 2015 which coincides with the increasing use of social media use among teens. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the age group of 10-24 in the nation. In Utah, suicide is the LEADING CAUSE of death in teens 15-19 and is almost double the NATIONAL RATE.

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I am sorry, but how can we ignore the fact that when we flood our social media with false representations of ourselves that we are not causing harm. I worry about the message my breast implants I got when I was 21 and the Botox I sometimes get in my forehead is sending my daughter, I can’t imagine if I was always looking outside myself in an AI app to find beauty within myself. Yes, read that again, it does not make sense! No amount of AI or surgery will change your beauty because your beauty is attached to your energy that is inside of you. My daughter said to me a few weeks ago “Mommy you have wrinkles around your eyes.” My reply was “because I have smiled a lot in life.” I am not perfect and get sucked up into the perfectionism wave at times but this one just feels different to me.

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Things I have seen that alarm me:

• This app is making people skinnier. Why are we saying skinnier is a prettier version of us and sharing it like it is a badge of honor?

• People’s faces have an unrealistic younger glow. Of course, if an app makes you shiny, you are going to sparkle. This reminds of the Instagram filters that make people look totally different and then you see them in real life, you wonder why they don’t present themselves online in their truth.

• The app is enlarging women’s breasts. I got breast implants when I was 21. I wish I could go back in time to tell that 21-year-old she was beautiful as she was. No number of surgeries, starving myself, trying to fit into the mold of perfectionism, helped me find happiness.

• You are literally becoming a cartoon. I always wanted to be Rainbow Bright, but I will leave it to an artist.

• They are stealing artists techniques that are people who have taken years to develop their craft. Artists, I see you. I honor your craft and we are going back to community. We have given away so much to machines over the years, and here we are doing it again.

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• The facial recognition pics!!! Maybe this is a far-fetched thought to be worried about but the fact every app on my phone opens with my face, makes me freaked out by this. I do not want to upload a bunch of photos of my face to an app.

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The most important currency we own is our energy! I know some people may do this app just for fun and they are fine. I know some people are doing this and it is making them wish they were a different version of themselves, and I know this is completely dangerous for others. I hope you protect your ENERGY and realize what you need and listen. Don’t let any app or filter tell you show you how beautiful you are. It feels so low vibe to me…this is just my opinion, and not in any way judgement. It honestly just feels scary to me.

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Do a photo shoot! Get dressed up and have some fun. Find beauty in yourself. Remember when we used to look at our elders and see their lines and older age as wisdom? I want to go back to that reality. This currently reality is literally making people sick.  I am worried for my daughter and other kids that are being raised in this unattainable false reality. Let’s show our children they are beautiful exactly as they are. In order to do that we have to believe we are beautiful as we are.

- With love only ❤️ Amanda @luxhealingarts