Nina Kruger

No ratings yet.

It is not a secret that with the rise of social media, our society has become increasingly concerned with the way we are perceived by others. Especially with the ever-growing popularity of photo-based platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, a new form of “selfie culture” is thriving, with people trying to capture each and every interesting moment of their lives and sharing them with others (Global News, 2019). While on the positive side, this creates new opportunities for us to express ourselves, it has also made us significantly more self-aware, especially in regards to our own appearance.

The effect of filters and augmented-reality tools on our self-perception

One striking feature of today’s “selfie-culture” is the widespread usage of photo-editing applications, filters and other augmented-reality tools, which allow us to easily touch up our photos and project an enhanced version to the world, but also to ourselves. Filters that for instance blur out blemishes and smoothen your skin texture have become so widely used, that nowadays, seeing an unedited photo seems to be the exception rather than the rule. While some filters only subtly touch up your photos, there are also more dramatic filters that significantly alter your appearance – from making your eyes and lips bigger to slimming down your face or sharpening your jaw line. The usage of filters might seem harmless at first, but a slight edit here and there can accumulate and eventually lead to a dangerous spiral of obsessiveness and compulsiveness around the image of your own body and face (WomensHealth, 2020).

As such, there is even a term for people that strongly fixate on their looks because of social media. “Selfie Dysmorphia”, or also called “Snapchat Dysmorphia”, has been derived from body dysmorphic disorder, which is a mental health condition, in which the affected person is obsessively focusing on one or more perceived flaws in their own appearance. The term “Selfie Dysmorphia” was established by a cosmetic surgeon, who observed an increasing number of patients requesting cosmetic procedures that would make them look just like the enhanced versions of themselves in their photos posted on social media (The Guardian, 2019).

The major problem in this case is that people are no longer just comparing themselves with a retouched photo of some celebrity on a magazine cover, but rather, that they are measuring themselves against an enhanced and pretend image of themselves, which blurs the line between reality and illusion and can distort their own self perception (Forbes, 2021). As such, filters and other augmented-reality tools can result in people fixating over supposed problems with their appearances, that they previously never even would have noticed (Waterfield, 2021).

Reflection

I think it comes as no surprise that Instagram and Snapchat can have a very damaging impact on people’s self-image. Especially for young girls, constant comparisons to filtered versions of others but also of themselves can have dangerous consequences, which should be taken very seriously. I think that overall, more transparency must be created. Norway for example recently has passed a legislation that requires content creators on social media to disclose whether they edited their photos or used a beautifying filter (Upworthy, 2021). While this will likely not solve the issue, I think that it is a step in the right direction and more legislators, but also platform providers themselves, should follow this example to make the distinction between real and fake more transparent. Nonetheless, the most crucial aspect is in my opinion to cultivate an overall more conscious and critical view on our own usage and time spent on social media to ensure that we do not lose touch with reality.

References

https://www.upworthy.com/norway-photo-editing-influencer-law

https://www.forbes.com/sites/annahaines/2021/04/27/from-instagram-face-to-snapchat-dysmorphia-how-beauty-filters-are-changing-the-way-we-see-ourselves/?sh=3fe8cfcf4eff

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jan/23/faking-it-how-selfie-dysmorphia-is-driving-people-to-seek-surgery

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/a33264141/face-filters-mental-health-effect/

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/body-dysmorphic-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353938

https://childmind.org/article/what-selfies-are-doing-to-girls-self-esteem/

https:// womensenews.org/2021/07/the-reverse-selfie-blurring-the-lines-of-reality-and-fantasy/

https:// youtube.com/watch?v=tRfpuEXrJqQ&ab_channel=GlobalNews

No ratings yet.

As a result of declining birth rates and increasing life-expectancies, populations around the world are nowadays ageing at unprecedented rates. In Europe, the life expectancy at birth for both, men and women, has increased by 10 years within the past five decades, and is expected to rise even further in the future (European Commission, 2020). While the increasing longevity brought about by significant breakthroughs in healthcare has been a major achievement of our time, the changing demographics are also posing tremendous challenges on public health care systems in providing sufficient care for the growing share of older people. Already today, the demand for workers in elderly care is significantly exceeding the supply, a trend that will continue and accelerate even further.

Major developments in AI and robotic technology however provide an exciting opportunity to complement elderly care by counteracting the growing labor shortages within nursing facilities and home care and helping older people to preserve their independence for longer (Association for Advancing Automation, 2020).

Overview of service robots in elderly care

Broadly, one can distinguish between two categories of robots in elderly care. The first category includes rehabilitation robots which aim at physical assistance and would include devices such as smart wheelchairs and artificial limbs. The second category refers to assistive social robots which are seen as “social entities” that are meant to actively interact and communicate with the user. Within this category, there are two different kinds of social robots: service type robots and companion type robots (Broekens et al., 2009).

Service type robots

Service type robots have their main functionality in assisting older people in their everyday lives. One example is the robot “Pearl” . It reminds people of their daily activities, such as eating or going to the bathroom and supports them in their mobility, for instance by navigating them through the nursing facilities and accompanying them to appointments, social events or regular walks for exercise (Pollack et al., 2002).

Companion type robots

Apart from service type robots, robots are also being utilized as “companions” that can help counteracting loneliness and strengthening the psychological well-being amongst older people. One example is the robot “Pepper” which is utilized in several care homes in the UK. “Pepper” can learn about the interests of care home residents, allowing him to have conversations with them, play their favorite music and play games with them (The Guardian, 2020). Another type of companion robots includes therapeutic pet robots, such as the cat-shaped robot “iCat” or the seal-shaped robot “Paro”. Studies have shown, that “Paro” can indeed reduce loneliness, depression, agitation and blood pressure among older adults with dementia (Hung et al., 2019).

Reflection

Personally, I think these are exciting developments. While robots can by no means sufficiently compensate for the growing labour and capacity issues in elderly care, I do think that they can become an important pillar as an additional source of support. However, the emphasis here should clearly be on additional support. It is crucial to consider the ethics of using robots to care for the elderly and not to neglect the importance of interpersonal contact and quality of care for the sake of efficiency.

What are your thoughts on the utilization of AI and robotics in elderly care?

References

Broekens, J., Heerink, M., & Rosendal, H. (2009). Assistive social robots in elderly care: a review. Gerontechnology, 8(2), 94–103.

Hung, L., Liu, C., Woldum, E., Au-Yeung, A., Berndt, A., Wallsworth, C., Horne, N., Gregorio, M., Mann, J., & Chaudhury, H. (2019). The benefits of and barriers to using a social robot paro in care settings: a scoping review. Bmc Geriatrics, 19(1), 1–10.