Filters are a huge part of life today which is why I appreciate how the text book talks about them. The book talks about the two main types of filters “I want to emphasize the similarities between the visual filters we apply to our photographs, the technological filters we apply to our blogs and other social media feeds and the cultural filters (norms, expectations, normative discursive strategies) that teach us, for instance, to mimic photo models in fashion magazines or Instagram selfie stars when we photograph ourselves.” this quote from ,seeing ourselves through technology, by Jill Walker Rettberg (pg 22) talks about the difference between technological and cultural filters. where a technological filter is applied to photos and videos, a cultural filter is created in the mind of people.

technological filters can affect society as while as simple photos. when a picture which has been affected by a filter becomes popular and is passed as real (which happens alot) it can create a false reality for all the people who see it. things like a photo of a person that has been edited to make them look better than they do can create a false standard of beauty for the people that compare themselves and others to fake pictures. more than just social media users use photo filters “Photo filters have become a cultural phenomenon that goes far beyond social media. Many photojournalists for mainstream media have taken to using smartphones and filters in their work” (pg 22) in this quote Rettberg is talking about a phenomenon that has been happening since World War Two, when journalistic photographers would actually move and pose the bodies of fallen soldiers as while as having people act as dead bodies to make the photos seam more graphic as to emphasize the horrors of war.

The other type of filers are referred to as cultural, which are filters applied to life. These filters create things such a personal bias and (even though it may seem extreme) racism. In today’s world many of these cultural filters are created by technological filters. Although they can be positive I see any cultural filters as bad, only because of the fact that through these filter people see a false reality.

Overall I am not a fan of any type of filters because of the fact that I am a very analytical and like to see things as factual and filters alter our view of the world.

works cited

Jill Walker Rettberg,”seeing ourselves through technology”,
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2F9781137476661.pdf