Digital filters and artificial intelligence: how comparison affects body image and plastic surgery

Digital filters, edited images and artificial intelligence tools are changing how many people view their own bodies. Frequent exposure to digitally altered faces and bodies creates standards that are difficult to achieve in real life, increasing debate about how comparison affects self-esteem and decisions involving aesthetic procedures.

Marco Dallegrave, a doctor, plastic surgeon, postgraduate in Psychiatry and member of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery, explains that assessing surgery should involve more than the physical feature causing concern; the origin of the wish must also be considered.

“Comparison now happens not only with other people, but also with selected images, filters, angles and edits. When a digital reference begins to dictate how someone believes they should look, it can affect how they see their own body and the expectations they bring to the consultation,” says Marco Dallegrave.

Comparison can affect body perception

The widespread use of beauty filters has created a new relationship with personal image. Features that alter the skin, nose, eyes, jawline and facial proportions have become part of the daily routine for millions of users, while artificial intelligence tools can produce versions even closer to an idealised appearance.

Beauty filters and body image

The study “Associations between TikTok facial filter use and body image variables”, published in 2025 in the scientific journal Body Image and conducted with 397 university students who use TikTok, identified an association between facial filters designed to improve appearance and higher levels of facial dissatisfaction and concern about body image. The researchers stressed that the findings indicate a relationship between these factors, but do not prove a direct cause.

According to Marco Dallegrave, the key concern arises when a digital image stops being an inspiration and starts to act as an expected outcome. “An altered photograph may provide a visual reference, but it does not represent something that can realistically be reproduced. Every person has their own skin characteristics, bone structure, fat distribution and body proportions,” he explains.

The specialist points out that seeking aesthetic changes does not necessarily indicate a negative relationship with one’s appearance. It becomes a concern when dissatisfaction is ongoing, shifts from one area of the body to another, or when someone believes surgery will resolve emotional, professional or social issues.

“There is a difference between improving something that genuinely bothers you and trying to keep up with a standard that changes with trends. No procedure can solve a constant comparison with images that are continually being altered,” the plastic surgeon notes.

When plastic surgery may not be the best choice

Before recommending a procedure, the medical assessment considers factors such as the history of dissatisfaction, expectations about the result and an understanding of surgery’s limitations. For Marco Dallegrave, the surgeon’s role also includes advising when an intervention is not the most suitable route.

“Not every desire for change needs to lead to surgery. When expectations do not match what a procedure can deliver, or when the issue presented goes beyond a physical characteristic, the most responsible decision may be not to operate,” he emphasises.

Expectations and the limits of surgery

Plastic surgery can support wellbeing when there is a medical indication and expectations align with what the procedure can achieve. In the specialist’s view, the relationship people have with their own image has taken on a new dimension through the influence of social media and digital tools.

“The aim should not be to leave surgery looking like what repeatedly appears on a screen. Beauty also involves how a person sees themselves, respects themselves and understands their own worth. Surgery can alter physical characteristics, but it should not bear responsibility for someone’s self-esteem or happiness,” says Marco Dallegrave.

According to the plastic surgeon, “when there is clarity about what a person genuinely wants and what comes from external pressure, the decision becomes more conscious. Transformation may happen on the outside, but the relationship with one’s own image needs to be built from the inside out,” he concludes.

By Carolina Lara