‘Time Travel’, the new aging filter that obsesses (and divides) TikTok

You only need to look at your mother-in-law (or father-in-law) to determine what your wife (or husband) will look like in a few years. This old adage could fall into disuse in the face of the proliferation of applications, programs, and other aging filters, increasingly precise thanks to the advent of artificial intelligence. We no longer count them as they multiply at great speed on the internet, from Snapchat to TikTok via FaceApp or YouCam Makeup, showing a certain interest, whether positive or negative, in the possibility of (being ) see in the future.

While these filters may make you smile when used anecdotally, they also constitute a source of stress and anxiety for many people. The reason ? The fear of growing old and, beyond that, of seeing one’s appearance change radically, in just a few seconds, with obvious – and logical – signs linked to age. A fear that we find with the latest filter that has gone viral on TikTok, ‘Time Travel’, which recalls the population’s obsession with eternal youth, just like the fact that injunctions linked to age – and the famous age well – they definitely have a hard time.

‘Time Travel’, extreme precision

We take (almost) the same one, and we start again. Last summer, the Aged Filter went viral on TikTok due to its stunning results. The idea? Aging users of the Chinese social network by fifty years, no less, with all that this entails in terms of sagging skin, wrinkles, and brown spots. A concept which impressed those mainly concerned, while at the same time raising fears of a massive recourse to cosmetic medicine and surgery due to the reactions of socionauts.

A few months later, they are back with ‘Time Travel’, a new aging filter which has already been shared more than 1.4 million times, as reported The Washington Postand which has already generated nearly twenty million views – more than eight billion for the hashtag #timetravel but which does not rely solely on the filter.

It must be said that health professionals, dermatologists in the lead, continue to praise the merits of this filter which they consider – for the most part – to be extremely precise. This is particularly the case of Dr Keon Parsa who explains in a short video that the ‘Travel Time’ filter is even more precise than the ‘Aged Filter’ (which was already very precise), perfectly showing the natural process of skin aging. He is far from being the only one, this is also the opinion of Dr Toral, a dermatologist based in the United States, who also praises the precision with which the filter highlights aspects of facial aging. And to specify, like many of his colleagues, the signs induced by the natural process of aging: wrinkles, uneven skin texture, deeper nasolabial folds, hyperpigmentation, bags under the eyes, or even sagging of the the skin. All while distilling a few tips here and there to the delight of social users.

The fear of (seeing) yourself aging

TikTok users agree that the aging effects of this filter are stunning, which paradoxically makes them anxious. Because the success of this program makes it possible to realize the extent to which the taboos surrounding old age persist and are significant in society, despite the progress observed in recent years. Most TikTokers who have experimented with the filter say they are stressed or anxious, not to mention those who burst into tears, faced with one of the most common fears, that of growing old. “I’m coming back, I’m going to cry. New resolutions for 2024: stop smiling, wear sunscreen, save for injections“, “I look like my grandmother“, And “I just want to stop time” are among the many ‘negative’ captions that can be observed under dedicated publications.

But some are also positive, and even optimistic, even imbued with a certain emotion. This is the case for the user @browngirlcertified which states: “I was very moved, I didn’t expect that. Aging is truly a privilege“. And that’s without counting all the users who tested the filter with one of their parents, emphasizing the resemblance with them. In a long publication, Dr. Aleksandra Brown, an American dermatologist, emphasizes also the precision of this filter, and reminds that this is a normal aging process. “If you want to age gracefully, I recommend daily sunscreen and retinol at night“, she advises simply.

A message which follows a previous publication in which she recalled the importance of not comparing yourself to others, and of not throwing yourself into injections without (good) reason: “If you decide to have cosmetic procedures, choose an injector that matches your goals. Don’t get lost in the process. Also, don’t judge those who choose not to. Everyone has a choice“. Enough to set the record straight, and remind us that self-acceptance remains the real challenge to overcome.