If you‘ve spent any time on Instagram in 2024, you‘ve undoubtedly come across the viral sensation that is the crying filter. This augmented reality effect, which realistically overlays streams of tears onto users‘ faces, has taken the platform by storm, inspiring countless memes, heartfelt posts, and a new way to express emotions online. As a tech enthusiast and social media expert, I‘ve been fascinated by the crying filter‘s meteoric rise and cultural impact. In this in-depth article, we‘ll explore everything you need to know about the crying filter craze, from its origins to how to use it yourself to what it says about our digital culture.
The Origins of the Instagram Crying Filter
The most popular crying filter on Instagram is called "Sad Face" and was created by user @kiarrasmk. She released the filter in January 2023, and it quickly went viral, racking up millions of impressions and inspiring numerous copycats and variations.
In an interview with The Verge, @kiarrasmk shared her inspiration for creating the crying filter:
"I wanted to make an effect that felt really dramatic and over-the-top, but still relatable. We all have those moments where we just want to break down and cry, even if it‘s over something small. The crying filter lets you express that feeling in a visually intense way, but with a sense of humor. It‘s cathartic."
Other popular crying filters on Instagram include "Realistic Crying" by @noellelabelle and "Cry Baby" by @igorsirotov, but "Sad Face" remains the most widely used and iconic.
How to Use the Instagram Crying Filter
Using the crying filter on Instagram is a simple process, but here‘s a detailed step-by-step guide to ensure you can find and apply it with no issues:
Open the Instagram app and tap on the plus sign (+) icon in the top right corner to create a new post.
Swipe left at the bottom of the screen to switch from "Post" to "Story" mode.
On the left side of the screen, you‘ll see a row of AR effect icons. Swipe all the way to the right until you see the "Browse Effects" icon and tap it.
This will open the Effect Gallery. Tap on the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner to search for effects.
In the search bar, type "sad face" and look for the effect by @kiarrasmk in the results. Tap on it.
You‘ll now see a preview of the crying filter effect. Tap the "Try It" button in the bottom left to test it out.
The front-facing camera will activate with the crying filter applied. When you‘re ready to record, tap and hold the capture button to film a video, or tap it once to take a photo.
If you want to save the crying filter for easy access in the future, tap the down arrow icon in the bottom right corner. This will download the effect to your device.
Some tips for getting the most out of the crying filter:
- Make sure you have good lighting on your face so the tears show up clearly. Natural light or a ring light works best.
- Practice your crying expressions and poses beforehand. The more exaggerated and dramatic, the better!
- Combine the crying filter with other Instagram features like music, GIFs, and text to add more context and humor to your post.
The Popularity of the Instagram Crying Filter
It‘s hard to overstate just how popular the crying filter has become on Instagram. According to data from Instagram‘s parent company Meta, the "Sad Face" effect has been used in over 500 million posts and stories as of September 2023. That‘s an astonishing level of virality for a user-created AR effect.
To put that in perspective, here‘s a table comparing the usage of the crying filter to some of Instagram‘s other most popular AR effects:
| AR Effect | Creator | Usage (millions) |
|---|---|---|
| Sad Face (crying filter) | @kiarrasmk | 500+ |
| 2021 Recap | 300+ | |
| Disney Character | @arnopartissimo | 250+ |
| Custom Time | @erikasnacks | 200+ |
| Guess the Gibberish | @gu_Christopher | 150+ |
As you can see, the crying filter has significantly outpaced even effects created by Instagram itself, speaking to its incredible resonance with users.
Numerous celebrities and influencers have also hopped on the crying filter trend, further fueling its spread. Some notable examples:
- Kim Kardashian used the filter in a selfie video with the caption "when you realize you have to go back to work after vacation"
- Comedian Kevin Hart made a series of videos using the filter to dramatically react to everyday annoyances
- Singer Billie Eilish posted a crying filter video set to her song "Happier Than Ever" with the caption "the song vs. me irl"
- The NBA‘s official Instagram account shared a crying filter post joking about being a Kings fan
This combination of widespread user participation and high-profile endorsements helped make the crying filter into a full-blown cultural phenomenon.
The Psychology Behind the Crying Filter‘s Appeal
So what is it about the crying filter that made it connect with so many people? As a social media expert, I see a few key psychological factors at play.
First, the crying filter taps into the power of exaggeration and hyperbole in online communication. Social media rewards oversized emotions and reactions – nuance doesn‘t tend to stand out in the feed. By giving people an eye-catching way to turn their feelings up to 11, the crying filter becomes an appealing vehicle for self-expression.
There‘s also an element of vulnerability and authenticity that comes with sharing crying filter content. Even though the tears are virtual, posting a video of yourself sobbing does require letting your guard down to an extent. In a digital world where everything is airbrushed and FaceTuned to perfection, the messiness of the crying filter can feel refreshingly real.
As Dr. Jessica Stern, a psychologist who studies social media behaviors, explained to me:
"The crying filter gives permission to be over-the-top and dramatic in a socially acceptable way. For many people, especially younger users, it‘s a safer outlet for intense emotions than posting a sincere crying selfie. The AR effect adds a layer of distance and humor that makes it feel less raw and exposed."
Additionally, the collective use of the same crying filter creates a sense of solidarity and shared experience among users. When you post a crying filter video, you‘re participating in a massive inside joke and expressing that you‘re part of the cultural moment. That communal aspect is deeply appealing to our social instincts.
The Cultural Impact and Criticism of the Crying Filter
As with any digital trend, the crying filter has sparked its fair share of cultural analysis and criticism. On one level, it‘s a silly AR gimmick, but it also raises some interesting questions about emotional performativity and authenticity in social media.
Sonia Saraiya wrote a thought-provoking piece for Vanity Fair examining what our crying filter obsession says about contemporary communication:
"In a way, the crying filter is the logical endpoint of social media‘s pressure to perform our feelings for an audience. If the currency of the attention economy is emotional reactions, then of course we‘ve arrived at a plastic representation of sadness you can put on like a mask. It‘s not "crying," it‘s "doing crying," and we‘re all in on the act."
Saraiya hits on a central tension with the crying filter and similar digital trends. We know the crying isn‘t "real," but we also can‘t help but be affected by the visual language of intense emotion. Even when the tears are artificial, they still tap into our ingrained responses to seeing others in distress.
There‘s also valid criticism around how the crying filter may negatively impact younger, more impressionable users. Rachel Simmons, author of Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, expressed concern to Time Magazine:
"Adolescent girls are already facing a mental health crisis, with spiking rates of anxiety and depression. I worry that seeing their role models constantly posting crying content, even as a joke, could further normalize over-the-top emotions as the only way to get engagement and attention. It‘s teaching them that performative sadness is what‘s valued."
This is a complex issue without easy answers. I believe the crying filter itself is value-neutral – like any technology, it‘s all about how we choose to use it and contextualize it. Thoughtful conversations around the potential impacts are necessary and important. At the same time, moral panic about a playful social media fad is also unproductive. As with all viral digital culture, nuance is key.
The Future of AR Filters on Instagram
The runaway success of the crying filter offers some valuable insights for predicting the next big AR effect trends on Instagram. Users have clearly shown an appetite for filters that:
- Allow for novel, surprising, and dramatic visual transformations
- Tap into shared cultural experiences or emotional states
- Can be used flexibly to tell a wide range of stories or jokes
- Make the user the center focus rather than a background element
- Have a strong "wow factor" that compels shares and experimentation
I suspect we‘ll see more filters playing in the uncanny valley between realism and cartoonish exaggeration going forward, similar to the crying filter. Advances in AR mapping, facial tracking, and real-time rendering will make these effects increasingly lifelike and seamless.
We may also see a proliferation of "genre" filters akin to the crying filter‘s riffing on melodrama. Imagine a "paranoia filter" with shaky, distorted visuals or a "lovesick filter" with hearts and Cupid‘s arrows everywhere. The key is finding concepts with the right mix of specificity and broad applicability.
As Brenda Jimenez, a leading AR designer, told Wired:
"The holy grail is an effect that‘s distinctive and eye-catching, but open-ended enough to let each user make it their own. The crying filter nailed that combo. I‘m already brainstorming ideas for my take on the ‘next big thing‘ along those lines."
It will be fascinating to watch the AR space on Instagram evolve and see what new tools for creativity emerge. If one thing‘s for sure, it‘s that the crying filter won‘t be the last massively viral effect we‘ll all be playing with together.
Conclusion
In the end, the crying filter craze on Instagram is a prime example of how a simple AR effect can capture the cultural imagination on a huge scale. By offering an instantly iconic visual transformation that‘s endlessly remixable, the filter became a shared language for everything from goofy jokes to emotional catharsis.
Whatever your personal take on the crying filter and its impact, there‘s no denying its place in the 2023 digital zeitgeist. It‘s been remarkable to watch it bring people together in such an unlikely way, sparking conversations and creativity across the globe.
As an Instagram expert, my biggest takeaway is the power of tapping into universal experiences and giving users a novel tool to express themselves. The crying filter‘s success was all about the right effect reaching people at the right cultural moment – which, as we know, is as much an art as a science.
Whether you‘re an AR creator looking for the next big idea or just a casual Instagram scroller, the crying filter saga reminds us that the simplest concepts can have a massive impact in our hyperconnected age. As for me, I‘ll be keeping my eyes peeled for whatever weird and wonderful AR creations come next. And who knows? Maybe I‘ll even post a crying filter video or two of my own along the way.
