Filtered images create a false sense of reality for both the viewer of the image and the person posting the image. This false sense of reality is greatly contributing to many mental health issues among Facebook and Instagram users. We are demanding that Facebook and Instagram tag any filtered image with #filteredimage which we believe will provide the users of the platform with a firm sense of reality as they will know that the image is not a real depiction of the person pictured.

Research has previously established that social media use negatively impacts mental health, increasing the risk of anxiety, body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Younger generations are influenced by the filters. The filters can alter the way someone looks, making them look more mature, have no imperfections, or younger, as the case may be. These filters can lead to catfishing, sexual harassment, grooming, and cyberbullying.

Companies like Facebook and Instagram promote these filters for monetary gain, to create angry users and negative content and people tend to keep going back to these apps for entertainment and drama, despite the effects on their mental health. 

We propose to control the negative effects on the filters, allowing everyone to know when a filter is used. Whenever a filter is used on Instagram or Facebook, it needs to automatically tag a hashtag #filteredimage. We want Mark Zuckerberg to make this hashtag the norm, allowing for transparency when a filter is used; this will help to improve the mental health of all Facebook and Instagram users.