Read This If TikTok’s ‘Aged Filter’ Has You Depressed

TikTok The aging filter is all over TikTok right now. critique is that I will probably lose more volume in my lips than it shows based on what I see in other women.” @lauren_umstattd_md This filter is funny to look at because I constantly think about what all look like at this age given my profession ♬ original sound - Lauren Umstattd, MD Demoralized by the results, some shared ways to “beat” the filter: If you see someone who is supposedly “aging” better, they suggested, it’s probably because they filmed themselves in good lighting. The “old” filter is more deterministic: “You’re going to look like this,” it suggests; “maybe you should look into that preventive Botox after all.” It isn’t surprising that people are playing around with the aging filter, even after seeing others have “bad” results with it. Most of us are curious about how we’ll look as we grow older, and using the filter is a way to satisfy that curiosity, said Julie Erickson, a psychologist and the author of the forthcoming book “The Aging Well Workbook for Anxiety and Depression.” Unfortunately, the “old” filter does more than satisfy a benign curiosity. “Often our subjective age ― how old we feel ― is a better indicator of how well we will age, so these apps may overemphasize physical aging and not account for psychological well-being,” said Castel, who’s the author of “Better with Age: The Psychology of Successful Aging.” “There are so many myths about aging being all downhill, but in fact, research shows that aspects of our psychological health, such as mood and emotional regulation, may improve in older age,” he said.