Living in China: Let Me Take a #Selfie — Exploring China’s Obsession with Filters
It is unchecked narcissism fueled by technology.
A Look at Xiao Mi
While in Canada, I was an iPhone user. Even when I first moved to China four years ago, I remained an iPhone user until I realized that I needed a new phone. At the recommendation of my then boyfriend (now my husband), I decided to try Xiao Mi.
The name, Xiao Mi, translates directly to “little rice”. Fun fact: The Chinese word for fan is 粉丝 (which means “pieces of rice”). Xiao Mi calls its brand loyal fans, 米粉丝, or “noodles”.
The brand was originally a smartphone maker until it diversified aggressively into household goods and electronics. There’s a whole Xiao Mi ecosystem. We recently moved into our new apartment and 90% of our appliances are from Xiao Mi. The best part?
We can access all of them through the Xiao Mi app. Need to preheat the water before dinner? No problem. Forgot to start laundry before running out the door? I can just click a button on my phone, and it’ll wash and dry our laundry according to the settings I saved.
Xiao Mi has positioned itself as the leading smartphone maker for youth and young working professionals. It’s popular because of its reasonable prices and its superb features. Enter any Xiao Mi store and a cheerful orange and white interior will greet you. Its brand is approachable, user-friendly, and youthful.
Getting My First Xiao Mi Phone
What amazed me about my new Xiao Mi phone at the time was its photo editing features. I could have my entire face digitally altered with several swipes if I wanted to. In North America, I don’t remember seeing anything like it. My old iPhones, at best, had filters to smooth out my skin and other limited photo editing capabilities.
These Xiao Mi phones had features that allowed its users to slim their jawline, apply makeup, largen their eyes, slim down their nose, and even adjust their hairline — all before snapping that perfect selfie. You could re-construct your entire face with some semblance to your real self.
Disclaimer: To be clear, I do not recommend (nor am I advocating/encouraging/whatever-word-you-want-to-put-here…) for others to digitally alter their appearances drastically. I wanted to clarify this in case someone misunderstands what I wrote above or tries to read between the non-existent lines for meaning that I did not intend.
This is why the catfishing game in China is unreal. Also, there is no shortage of poorly edited videos and photos by catfishes who went viral because the before-and-after contrast was too great.
My husband told me about a video he saw on 抖音 (China’s TikTok); It was an interview with several women who truly believed that the filters they used represented their real selves. I felt a pang of sadness to hear that. You can only wonder what they think of whenever they actually look in the mirror and there isn’t a filter.
The Desire for Beauty
Things like working on your personal fitness to get that ideal figure or learning how to apply makeup that enhances your features are pursuits that take time and consistent effort; There are no short-cuts.
Filters are like a double-edged sword. There are filters that enable you to try different makeup styles without committing to buying a certain shade of lipstick — they might be useful in that regard.
If we’re trying to find another angle to showcase filters in a somewhat positive light, filters might even show you an ideal version of yourself to strive towards — that is if you’re the kind of person who is actively trying to improve your outer appearance.
Nonetheless, it can’t be denied that some people take it too far. It can distort someone’s reality and lull them into thinking that their filtered selves are real. This kind of mentality is clearly unhealthy.
Catfishing in China
This is a video that I recently came across while scrolling Chinese TikTok. In the first screenshot, you see a girl with a pronounced V-line shaped jaw. She has a longer nose and seems to be wearing a faint hint of blush on her cheeks. It also looks like she’s wearing a very bright red lipstick.
In the second screenshot, you see what seems to be another girl with a rounder face and shorter nose.
I got before-and-after screenshots as the filter glitched at several points during the video. There’s nothing inherently wrong with using filters — there’s only the question where one should ask oneself to what degree does it become ridiculous?
We might chuckle at the over-filtered versions of others, but no one can deny that we all have insecurities. Just some people’s insecurities happen to manifest and fester through the screen and over-editing.
Last Note
Like with anything online (anywhere in the world), seeing is not believing. Sometimes, we need a reminder that the videos and/or images uploaded are carefully edited and curated by people trying to craft an ideal persona for an audience.
