Filters have become part of everyday life, but with some damaging consequences. Dove Australia has released findings that note 75 percent of Australian girls have used filters on their images before they turn 13.

Perhaps it seems like a harmless stat. Filters can mean turning someone into a cat or giving them a princess crown. It can be as innocent as giving a photo a vintage feel or a background of love hearts. But, it can also have a more sinister and sad reality. 

The study done by Dove revealed that three in four Australian girls are applying a filter to change the way that they look. The same numbers have also deleted photos that they deemed to not look “perfect”. These numbers are a staggering 30 percent more than the global average.

Sixty-two percent of 10 – 17 year olds surveyed wished the world would care more about who they are than what they look like.

The numbers show a social problem in Australia that is affecting young girls. Nicky Sparshott, CEO of Unilever Australia and New Zealand talks about the study.

“For years, Dove has been a leading advocate for real beauty and authentic representation in advertising. The rise of social media with the filters and editing apps that come with it has enabled creativity and self-expression. But we’ve also seen how these can be harmful to conform to narrow beauty standards.”

To combat the issue, Dove has created the Dove Self-Esteem Project Confidence Kit. The kit is a dedicated online tool which empowers parents and carers to understand the challenges that young people face online. It teaches about how to curate a positive, diverse social feed and start conversations like #SelfieTalk which provides tips on how to make social media a healthy space.

Accompanying the Confidence Kit is a film ‘Reverse Selfie’. The film looks at how many ways a selfie can be manipulated to completely alter the original.

Check out the spot below.