How the TikTok-Viral ‘Chubby’ Filter Trend Is Impacting Gen Z

When I think of photo filters, the first things that come to mind are color changes or silly Snapchat add-ons. But a new filter going viral on TikTok is a lot more harmful than turning your group photo sepia or adding puppy ears to a selfie. No, the new “chubby” filter is — as you probably guessed — showing users what they would look like if they gained weight.

And, as you probably guessed, it’s gaining a lot of attention. Despite mountains of criticism, users are still using the filter for various reasons including, “scaring” themselves into maintaining their current weight, using it for a laugh, or looking for views and engagement (often fishing for comments about their current body). And yeah, if you’re thinking, “Wait, that’s awful!” … you would be right.

But trends are trends, and teens are teens, and the bandwagon can be too hard to resist — even if it comes at the cost of upsetting themselves or their followers. The “after” photos can be triggering for people who struggle with self-image, body dysmorphia, or disordered eating. And for teens who are scrolling — who may already feel pressure to look a certain way — seeing others laughing at a “chubby” filter can be all the more hurtful.

While this filter might be new, the destructive phenomenon is not. In 2023, Psychology Today spoke about the ultra-harmful “skinny” filter and the “perfect face” filter. (And yes, those filters do exactly what you think they do.) Researchers in London found that 94 percent of the nearly 200 women they surveyed felt “intense” pressure to look a certain way, so they turned to filters.

In a different study, researchers found that despite body dissatisfaction, when around 130 women around the age of 20 were asked to edit their selfies, they only got more dissatisfied.

“Young women are not only comparing their appearance to perfect images of celebrities and peers but also judging themselves against their filtered selfies,” psychology professor Tara Well wrote for Psychology Today. “This constant comparison can be a source of great suffering and erode one’s positive body image and self-esteem.”

And it’s not only young girls who are feeling the harmful effects of filters and/or social media’s lofty standards. “Gym Bro” culture has led to a quarter of young boys worrying that they aren’t muscular enough. So a “chubby” filter could be just as upsetting for them as it is for a peer who is leaning into “Almond Mom” culture.

Filters (whether they are “chubby,” “skinny,” “perfect,” or puppy-inspired) are far from the only way social media is damaging adolescents’ mental health and emotional well-being.

It’s gotten to the point that Dr. Vivek Murthy, while acting as the U.S. surgeon general, wrote an op-ed for The New York Times where he said social media platforms should come with a warning label. Literally. In the same way alcohol bottles tell pregnant women to beware, he said social media sites should state they are “associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents” and a reminder for teens and their parents that social media “has not been proved safe.”

Studies found that social media can double the risk of anxiety and depression among teens who use it for more than three hours a day, and research shows that social media often harms teen body image. And let’s not forget the states that are suing Meta, saying Facebook and Instagram’s parent company is knowingly harming youth mental health with “addictive” features.

Even the CEO of Verizon is rooting for kids to get off their phones. “Young kids are on the phone 4 to 5 hours on social every day … get 275 notifications every day … and pick up their phone 150 times,” Sowmyanarayan Sampath told SheKnows at their Digital Wellness Summit earlier this month.

And this is all before you even throw the “chubby” filter into the mix. Now, some of those hours and notifications revolve around a filter that might fuel fatphobia, lead to unhealthy relationships with food and/or exercise, and reinforce unrealistic body expectations.

So what is there to be done about it? Well, as Sampath and parents everywhere might like, the ultimate goal is less screen time. Fewer hours with access to filters have the potential to do wonders for Gen Z. But if that sounds a bit idealistic to you, talk to your teen about AI-generated filters, the harms that come with them, and how they feel when they see edited photos.

Or, if even that feels out of reach, text them a list of body-positive (or body-neutral!) influencers to follow like Brittani Lancaster, Spencer Barbosa, Jordan Underwood, Tabria Majors, and more. It’s time to break up that filter-filled feed!

Before you go, check out these celebrities who have shared their technology rules for their kids.