TechDigits

Tech news
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Young People Are Using A TikTok Filter To Create Photos With Family Members Who've Died

Young People Are Using A TikTok Filter To Create Photos With Family Members Who've Died

The head of product for TikTok in the US told BuzzFeed News this creative and powerful application from users is "inspiring."

People on TikTok are reimagining how to use a popular new filter that places or "flattens" you in a photo, and it's making people very emotional.

Young TikTokers are uploading old photos of parents or other loved ones who've died so they can have current photos of them together.

Those who have used the "Green Screen Scan" effect in this way told BuzzFeed News that the experience was overwhelming and heartbreaking but also cathartic.

The Green Screen Scan imposes the user onto any photo they choose to upload in the background so that the results, or new photo, looks like one flattened image. Like many videos on the app, the filter was first used jokingly as a way to convince a parent that you were somewhere that you were not.

Soon after, a different kind of video using the filter went viral. Nineteen-year-old Alexis Puckett said last week when she was scrolling through the app and noticed the new filter on the app she "knew immediately" what she had to do with it.

Puckett used the green screen effect with the last photo she took with her dad, who died from stage 4 esophageal cancer in 2018. Her TikTok has been viewed more than 7.4 million times.

"It made me really happy to be able to see myself now with my dad because he has missed out on so much after passing, as I was only 17 when he passed," she told BuzzFeed News.


People who watched her video were just as moved by it. "That just broke me," one user wrote. Others, like Sara Rogers, 19, said they were instantly inspired to try this themselves.

Rogers, who lives near Nashville, told BuzzFeed News she saw Puckett's video and instantly thought about her mom, who died in a car accident last year. She had made previous videos about her mom and her grief, but she said this one was surprisingly hard to get through.


"I made another [TikTok] before I made this one that I ended up posting and I immediately bawled my eyes out as you can probably tell by my red face," Rogers said. "It looked way too realistic and was very sentimental to me."

Adrianne Taylor, 21, said she was also moved to tears the moment she began posing "with" her father in the photo. Her dad died from brain cancer in 2012 when she was only a preteen.

"When making the TikTok I became overwhelmed with emotions," Taylor, who lives in San Jose, told BuzzFeed News. "I've watched the video myself at least 200 times."

She said what she felt was "raw sadness" because her dad could not see her grow up. But then seeing the result of the photo was also strangely comforting.

"It was nice to see a photo of us with me grown up rather than being a little girl," Taylor said. "When losing a loved one there's no time limit on your grief. You just learn to live with it."

Sean Kim, the head of product for TikTok in the US, told BuzzFeed News said this creative and powerful use of their design was "inspiring."

"This use of Green Screen Scan is another inspiring example of our community’s creativity and heart, and we’re proud to see them continue to use TikTok to tell their stories and share meaningful moments with the world," said Kim.

Taylor, and others, said it's not just the TikTok filter that's had a profound effect on them. Sharing their complicated grief has also led strangers to message them, offering their condolences and also relating to their joy and sorrow.

"The kind feedback from people and the genuine understanding of my pain was so soothing and unlike anything I've experienced before," she added.

Rogers experienced the same. "I've had a ton of people reach out to me about their parents passing and it was extremely comforting knowing other people have gone through the same trauma and have gotten through it," she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
0:00
0:00
Close
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
Melinda French Gates Advocates for Increased Female Representation in AI to Prevent Bias
Snapchat+ gains 4 million paying subscribers in its first year
Apple Makes History as the First Public Company Valued at $3 Trillion
Elon Musk Implements Twitter Limits to Tackle Data Scraping, but Faces Criticism for Technical Misunderstanding
EU and UK's Slow Electric Vehicle Adoption Raises Questions About the Transition to Green Mobility
Top Companies Express Concerns Over Europe's Proposed AI Law, Citing Competitiveness and Investment Risks
Meta Unveils Insights on AI Usage in Facebook and Instagram, Amid Growing Calls for Transparency
Crypto Scams Against Seniors Soar by 78% in 2022, Experts Urge Vigilance
The End of an Era: National Geographic Dismisses Last of Its Staff Writers
Shield Your Wallet: The Perils of Wireless Credit Card Theft
Harvard Scientist Who Studies Honesty Accused Of Data Fraud, Put On Leave
Putting an End to the Subscription Snare: The Battle Against Unwitting Commitments
The Legal Perils of AI: Lawyer Faces Sanctions for Relying on Fictional Cases Generated by Chatbot
ChatGPT’s "Grandma Exploit": Ingenious Hack Exposes Loophole in AI, Generates Free Software Codes
The Disney Downturn: A Near Billion-Dollar Box Office Blow for the House of Mouse
A Digital Showdown: Canada Challenges Tech Giants with The Online News Act, Meta Strikes Back
Distress in the Depths: Submersible and Passengers Missing in Titanic Wreckage Expedition
Mark Zuckerberg stealing another idea: Twitter
European Union's AI Regulations Risk Self-Sabotage, Cautions smart and brave Venture Capitalist Joe Lonsdale
Nvidia GPUs are so hard to get that rich venture capitalists are buying them for the startups they invest in
Chinese car exports surge
Reddit Blackout: Thousands of Communities Protest "Ludicrous" Pricing Changes
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
×