Internet Face vs. Real Face: Who Are We Even Anymore?

Self Help(ed)

This week on Self Help(ed), Maggie brings a big one to the therapy couch: Internet Face. You know the one- the airbrushed, filter-heavy, best-angle-only version of ourselves that’s quietly become the new normal. From ‘bad angles on tv’ spirals to Botox confessions and the constant tug-of-war between how we think we look and how we really look.

Why are women chasing their filtered selves in real life? When did aging become something we’re supposed to hide away? And how do we start making peace with our unfiltered faces staring back at us? We dive into how the rise of filters, constant high-res streaming, and an online culture obsessed with “perfection” has left so many of us feeling like we’re falling short of our own fake selves.

Tully reflects on what it’s like to have had a camera pointed at her since she was 15 - from being “discovered” in the Girlfriend Model Search, to Big Brother, to over a decade of selfies on Instagram - and why even now she still struggles to resist the edit button.

Together, they explore how Internet Face can feel empowering in the moment but often morphs into self-surveillance, why women are starting to feel pressure to look like their filtered selves offline, and how hard it can be to make peace with the natural process of aging.

It’s a raw, funny and deeply relatable conversation about worth, filters, and the radical idea of letting your “bad angles” live. Because growing older is a privilege, and maybe the most rebellious thing we can do is love our Real Face exactly as it is.

CHAPTERS:

01:12 – Armchair Therapy Begins

02:13 – Defining Internet Face

08:22 – The Feminist Struggle With Ageing

14:08 – The Beauty Trap

18:19 – Mummy Makeovers & Moving the Goalposts

22:54 – Exposure Therapy For Ageing

27:00 – The Girls Remove The Masks

32:18 – Self Help(ed) Scoop of the Week

35:07 – Baby Name Notes App Game

If you enjoyed your Self Help(ed) session today, please hit subscribe, leave us a glowing review and follow us on socials at ⁠@selfhelpedpod⁠.

You can find Maggie online at ⁠@maggiekellywriter⁠ and Tully over on ⁠@tee_smyth⁠.

New episodes dropping every Thursday. #SelfHelpedPod

This podcast episode is brought to you by Go-To: quality, effective skincare that actually works.