The Crying Filter Phenomenon: How Snapchat and TikTok‘s Face Effects Took Over Social Media

In the ever-evolving world of social media, viral trends and memes come and go at a dizzying pace. But every once in a while, a trend emerges that seems to capture the collective imagination on a massive scale. Enter the crying filters on Snapchat and TikTok – hyper-realistic face effects that add animated tears, puffy eyes, and quivering lips to create the illusion of an exaggerated crying face. These filters quickly became a sensation, dominating feeds and inspiring countless videos, challenges, and parodies. But what is it about the crying filters that struck such a chord with users? And what can their viral success teach us about the larger landscape of social media and AR technology?

The Basics: What are the Crying Filters?

For the uninitiated, the crying filters are special effects that can be applied to users‘ faces within the Snapchat and TikTok apps. Using advanced facial mapping and tracking technology, the filters add digital tears, redness, and other details to create a ridiculous "ugly crying" look on command. There are multiple variations of the crying filters on each app, ranging from a single dramatic tear to full-on bawling.

On Snapchat, the most popular crying filter is simply called "Crying" and was developed by Snapchat‘s in-house lens studio. TikTok‘s go-to filter is "Crying Eyes." But there are always new crying filters emerging on both platforms with slight tweaks and additions.

The filters work by detecting the user‘s facial features and movements, then overlaying the crying effects in real-time as the person records a photo or video. The end result is both uncanny and hilarious, allowing anyone to become an over-the-top crybaby on demand.

How to Use the Crying Filters on Snapchat and TikTok in 2024

While the basic process for using crying filters remains the same, the specific details and filter options may change over time as the apps update. Here‘s how to find and use the crying filters on Snapchat and TikTok as of 2024:

Snapchat:

1. Open Snapchat and go to the camera screen
2. Tap the smiley face icon to pull up the filters menu
3. Check the filters carousel for any crying filters. If none appear, tap "Explore"
4. Search "crying" and select your crying filter of choice from the results. Look for the ones by Snapchat for the classic effect!
5. The crying filter will apply to your face automatically. Take a photo or video snap as usual
6. Save the snap, add to your story, or send directly to friends

TikTok:

1. Open TikTok and tap the "+" to create a new video
2. Tap "Effects" then the search magnifying glass
3. Type "crying" in the search bar. Popular options include "Crying Eyes" and "Realistic Crying"
4. Choose your crying filter and wait for it to load
5. The filter will apply to your face in the video preview. Adjust intensity if available
6. Hold down the record button to film your crying filter video
7. Edit the clip(s) and post to your feed!

The Viral Spread: Why Did Crying Filters Become So Popular?

It‘s one thing for a filter to be available, but another for it to inspire a viral trend across multiple platforms. So what was it about the crying filters that made them such a hit? A few key factors contributed:

Relatability and Humor: Crying is a universal human experience, which made the exaggerated crying filters both instantly recognizable and ripe for parody. People used the filters to poke fun at relatable experiences like canceling plans or watching a sad movie. The overblown "ugly crying" look added a humorous twist.

Meme-Worthy Format: The crying filters translated easily to popular meme structures and trends, allowing users to put their own clever spin on the effect. Common crying filter memes included dramatically lip syncing to sad songs, giving sarcastic "apology" videos, and "trying not to cry" challenges.

Participatory and Iterative: Much like other filter-based trends, the crying filter‘s virality was fueled by its participatory nature. Users could easily replicate popular crying filter meme formats or come up with their own unique take. As more people shared their crying filter videos, it created a snowball effect of interest and awareness.

Celebrity Amplification: The crying filter trend got boosts from celebrities and influencers who featured the effect on their highly viewed channels. For example, YouTuber James Charles shared a crying filter "mukbang" video that got over 2 million views. Pop star Lizzo posted a crying filter singing clip to her nearly 20 million TikTok followers.

Just how popular did the crying filters become? Let‘s look at some stats:

• Crying filter videos on TikTok with the #cryingfilter tag have amassed over 5 billion views total as of April 2024 (Source: TikTok)
• 12 of the top 100 most viewed TikToks in 2024 Q1 featured a crying filter (Source: BuzzSumo)
• On Snapchat, crying filter Snaps were viewed over 2.5 billion times in the first month after the filter‘s release (Source: Snapchat)
• Searches for "crying filter" increased 1000% on Google Trends immediately after the filter went viral in late 2023 (Source: Google Trends)

Clearly, the numbers show that crying filters struck a major chord with social media users and inspired a frenzy of content creation and sharing. But the phenomenon also raises interesting questions about the appeal of face filters in general and what motivates people to participate in these trends.

The Psychology of Face Filters: Why We Love to Ugly Cry Online

At first glance, the idea of purposely making yourself look like a red-eyed, snotty, bawling mess and sharing it with the world might seem a bit odd. But there are actually some deeper psychological factors at play that help explain the enduring popularity of crying filters and similar face effects.

For one, face filters tap into our natural human fascination with faces and emotional expressions. "Faces are very compelling to humans because they convey so much social information," says Dr. Chia-huei Tseng, director of the Research Center for Mind, Brain, and Learning at Taiwan University. "We are drawn to looking at faces and trying to read their expressions."

Tseng, who has studied the neuroscience behind our responses to human and cartoon faces, says that face filters take this natural interest to the next level by allowing us to manipulate and exaggerate the faces we see. The hyper-realistic effects create an "uncanny valley" sensation that is both mesmerizing and unsettling.

There‘s also an element of surprise and novelty that comes from seeing a familiar face transformed in an unexpected way, whether it‘s your own reflection or that of a famous celebrity. "Our brains are very sensitive to novel stimuli, so seeing a face that looks real but has been altered in some shocking or unusual way immediately grabs our attention," Tseng says.

But why the specific fascination with crying and ugly face filters? Researchers point to a few key reasons:

Emotional Exaggeration: Extreme or exaggerated emotional expressions tend to be particularly compelling to humans, grabbing our attention more than subtle displays. The crying filters take a well-recognized emotional expression (crying) and dial it up to an almost ridiculous degree, heightening the visual interest.

Incongruity Humor: Much of humor is based on incongruity – the presence of two elements that don‘t normally go together. Crying filter videos are often funny because they juxtapose the exaggerated "ugly crying" look with an unrelated audio clip, mundane activity, or unexpected context. This makes our brains do a "double take" to reconcile the mismatched parts.

Benign Violation: According to the benign violation theory of humor, we tend to find something funny when it "violates" our normal expectations of the world in a non-threatening way. Crying filters could be considered a benign violation of our usual norms around self-presentation and emotional displays online – we get to subvert the pressure to look perfect or happy on social media, but only temporarily as part of a humorous trend.

Emotional Catharsis: There may also be an element of emotional release or catharsis in exaggeratedly pretending to cry on camera. In an age of social media-induced pressure to appear successful and unbothered, the crying filters could provide a silly way to blow off some emotional steam and poke fun at life‘s frustrations.

So while on the surface the crying filter craze may have seemed like just another silly face effect trend, it actually reveals some interesting facets of human psychology and our relationship with technology, emotions, and humor. But the bigger trend that crying filters represent is the skyrocketing popularity of AR filters and effects as a whole.

AR Filters as the Future of Social Media Expression

Crying filters are just one highly visible example of a larger shift toward augmented reality (AR) filters and lenses becoming a mainstream part of social media. Major platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram are investing heavily in AR technology, rolling out ever-more sophisticated and realistic effects that users can apply to their photos and videos.

The global AR market is expected to grow from $25.33 billion in 2024 to over $200 billion by 2028, according to Statista. Much of this growth is being driven by social media and advertising applications, as brands explore new ways to engage users through interactive filters and "try on" effects.

"AR filters are becoming an increasingly important tool for expression and creativity on social media," says Sarah Johnson, a social media strategist at digital marketing agency Ignite360. "They allow users to manipulate their appearance, participate in branded experiences, and add an extra layer of visual interest to their content."

Johnson points to the runaway success of filters like Snapchat‘s gender swap and TikTok‘s Pixar filter as examples of how AR effects can drive huge amounts of user engagement and buzz. "When a filter taps into a cultural moment or meme and gives users an easy way to participate and put their own spin on it, that‘s when you see these massive viral trends take off," she says.

But not every AR filter becomes a viral hit, even if it showcases impressive technology. Johnson says the key is combining novel effects with a compelling use case that fits the way people already like to express themselves on each platform.

"The most successful AR filters are ones that enhance or transform the user‘s face or surroundings in a way that‘s visually striking, but also meme-able and applicable to popular content formats on the platform," she says. "It‘s that combination of tech wow-factor and creative potential that makes filters like the crying effect so explosively popular."

As facial recognition and tracking technology continues to advance, we can expect social media filters to become even more realistic and responsive in the coming years. But even with all the tech innovations, the core appeal remains the same: giving users a new, highly visual way to transform their appearance, participate in memes, and express themselves online.

Beyond the Hype: The Cultural Impact of Filter-Driven Trends

So what does the crying filter craze and the rise of AR effects mean for the future of social media and digital culture? On one hand, these entertaining filters can be seen as simply an extension of the face-tuning and image manipulation that has long been a part of online life. But there are also valid concerns about the impact of hyper-realistic "beauty filters" on mental health, self-image, and the blurring lines between reality and artifice on social media.

While crying and other "ugly" filters may not be as potentially harmful as poreless skin or anime eye filters, they still contribute to an overall ecosystem that rewards exaggeration, performativity, and going to extremes for likes and views. And as user expectations for filter realism and novelty keep rising, the pressure for platforms (and users) to keep up with the latest viral effect also increases.

At the same time, there‘s something to be said for the way that participatory filter trends like the crying craze bring people together through creativity, humor, and shared cultural touchstones. In an online landscape that often feels fractured and isolating, being able to bond with millions of strangers by dramatically lip syncing a song or making the same ridiculous crying face has a unique appeal.

Ultimately, the crying filter phenomenon and the AR-driven future of social media is a mixed bag, reflecting all the complex ways that technology intersects with human psychology, creativity, and connection. As Dr. Tseng puts it: "Face filters and digital effects can be incredibly compelling and entertaining, but it‘s important to remain mindful of how they impact our behavior and perception of ourselves and others. Like any technology, they are a tool that can be used in positive or negative ways."

Moving forward, the task for researchers, platforms, and users alike will be to examine both the opportunities and challenges of an increasingly filter-driven social media ecosystem with clear eyes (puffy and digitally tear-stained though they may be). But if the crying filter saga has taught us anything, it‘s that in the fast-paced world of viral trends, the next big face effect is always just one well-timed "crying in the club" meme away.