Why the Butterfly Snapchat Filter Makes You Look So "Good"

Half the girls in the world are obsessed with the butterfly Snapchat filter. And we can't blame them. It makes you look good!

We love the dreaminess of the filter and the fact that within seconds it provides us with clearer skin, a slimmed down face and a beautiful glowing halo that we just cannot seem to find anywhere in real life!

However, writer Kate Symons has penned a very personal and thought provoking piece for SMH on the hidden, negative effects that the filter is having. As she feel is wreaking havoc on girl's self esteem as the filter is providing us with unrealistic expectations for women.

Related: Why the puppy dog filter on Snapchat makes you look good too!

"This wasn't the first time I had seen someone sporting Snapchat's butterfly halo, but it was the first time I realised there was more to the lens than sparkling gold wings flapping delicately around the hairline."

Kate then starts talking about why she's found discomfort with the look of the filter.

"The butterfly halo, though, along with a few other filters boasting similar beautification properties, seems fraught with potential harm. Real is the discrepancy between the before and after photos. Real again is the suggestion – intentional or otherwise – that beauty requires a slimmer face, clearer skin (or whiter skin in the case of Snapchat's flower crown lens) and bigger eyes. No matter what your starting point, this lens says, "OK, now you're hot." But does digital perfection comes at a cost?"

Perhaps all this is because of the fact the filter is based on the notion of "perfect facial symmetry".

"Study after study has attempted to confirm the science behind the perfect face. Facial symmetry is often mentioned. Denzel Washington is apparently beautifully symmetrical. Sexual dimorphism, describing the degree to which one appears "classically" masculine or feminine is another theory."

"The fact science can't agree is reflective of society. Beauty comes in countless forms and that's a good thing. Yet it's the butterfly halo and not the rainbow vomit that is staking the biggest claim on social shareability. The more we perpetuate the message, the more confined the definition of beauty becomes."