Summary: Rettberg starts out clarifying the many terms of filer. It can be technological, cultural or cognitive, or filters can be a combination of these three types. She emphasizes the importance of filters in our media and society. They are everywhere, enhancing the pictures we take in real life. Not only does filters are huge in the world of technology, there are some instances that Rettberg mentions. But in the end, in the variety of context that ‘filter’ is used, it all mean something similar—the removal of unwanted content. For example. Instagram and coffee. The Instagram filers get rids of the dullness of real life, and coffee filers gets rid of some coffee grounds but is primarily used to add flavor to by slowing its flow. Rettberg continues on to explain the sub-types of filters like genres, lens and cultural. She finally ends off with a little reflection of this chapter.
Main Idea: Filtering is widely common in this generation; it has allowed us to hide the imperfection and flaws of reality.
Key terms
- Filter: pass (a liquid, gas, light, or sound) through a device to remove unwanted material
- Lens: something that facilitates and influences perception, comprehension, or evaluation
- Genre: a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter
- Cultural Phenomenon: also known as the bandwagon effect, occurs when certain individuals behave a certain way merely because other individuals do as well.
- Distortion: the act of twisting or altering something out of its true, natural, or original state
Connections: Living in this world of technology, I have seen many connections of using filters. Though I have mixed feelings about filters and filtering, I believe that many of us are mindlessly using it. It gives this sense of false happiness and in the long run, it damages our self-esteem. I see my mom download all those beauty filter apps onto her phone. She uses them to correct her pictures and selfies. I ask why she uses them, and she replies with an obvious answer—to make her look beautiful. This society has planted this idea of happiness through wearing this mask. I even get caught up with using filters on Snapchat. It is so easy to do. Everybody filters themselves into a “better” version of themselves. After all, we are humans.
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