Olivia Ponton Gets Real About the Impact Filters Have on Mental Health

The SI Swimsuit model discussed how detrimental filters can be to young people.

Olivia Ponton.Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Olivia Ponton is speaking out on photo and video filters. In a Feb. 2 TikTok post, the SI Swimsuit model posted a clip in which she tried out several filters that altered her hair color, softened her facial features, tanned her skin and added freckles to her face.

“If I grew up with this filter, or this one, especially this one, I would dye my hair every two weeks,” she shared as she cycled through various filters. “This one would make me really think about my life decisions.”

Ponton joked that she’s glad she grew up with Snapchat’s fun and silly dog filter rather than ones that altered the composition of her face.

“If had grown up with these filters, I probably would have been in therapy like five years prior to when I started when I was 14,” she said. “They’re beautiful and all, but like this [is] so unrealistic.”

The social media influencer went on to share that beauty filters would have “ruined” her as a child.

“I’m not anti-filters, I use ’em all the f------ time, but like, we should be thinking about like the young girls, young boys, young people that are growing up with these face-shaping filters,” she offered.

Plenty of Ponton’s 7.9 million followers on the platform chimed in to the comments section to share their thoughts.

“I’m glad I grew up w zero filters,” wrote one person. “We were forced to show the real deal life w zero make up tutorials either lol.”

“no i would be destroyed, yr so right,” concurred someone else, while another fan added, “the issue is they look so real but they’re so fake you can never look like that.”

Fellow model and 2019 SI Swimsuit Issue cover star Camille Kostek recently shared a similarly-themed TikTok declaring filters are out—watch it here.

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