Parents Worried About “Nose Cover” Trend That Teens Are Using In Photos, Experts Reveal The Reason
Teenagers never seem to run out of ways to worry their parents. Gen Z’s newest? The “nose cover,” which has prompted speculation from secret symbols to concerns about bullying.
The phenomenon went viral after Venezuela and Valentino Fury, daughter and niece of boxer Tyson Fury, were captured in family photos posted on Paris Fury’s Instagram account holding their hands over their noses and obscuring their faces. However, other parents soon noticed their kids doing the same thing.
Michelle Harris revealed to The Sun that her 13-year-old son’s insistence on the nose cover made her worried he was being teased for his appearance. “After several attempts to snatch the perfect Christmas family photo, I turned to my teen and finally asked him, ‘Why? Is everything OK? Are you being bullied?’” she said.
A new trend for members of Gen Z who are self-conscious about appearing in family photos involves doing a “nose cover”
Image credits: Ivan Samkov/Pexels
Image credits: parisfury1
Her son’s response was revealing. “No, but I will be if you post pictures of me online without my consent!” He went on to explain that teens don’t want to be caught “slipping” in photos that their peers could later find online and use to ridicule them.
Some social media commenters have suggested the trend is disrespectful to parents trying to get a good family photo, but most have recognized the digitized world Gen Z faces, one older generations might not understand. “Back in the day, paper photos were seen by a limited audience,” one person wrote. “Today free digital photos get published globally instantly. No wonder self-conscious teens try to maintain some privacy and control.”
Many see covering the middle of their faces with their hands as a way to avoid being teased online by their peers after their parents post their family pictures
Image credits: hey.its.aryyyyy
Experts have shared similar sentiments. Far from disrespectful, parenting author Amanda Jenner considers the nose cover a valid way for teens to safeguard their identities. In an interview with The Sun, she stated: “It’s important to remember that this phase is a normal part of growing up, where seeking independence and establishing personal boundaries are key developmental milestones.”
Founder of the motherhood social-media app Carol similarly reiterated that the nose cover is an important symbol of autonomy. “Teenagers withdrawing their consent to appear in family photos reflects their growing desire for privacy and control over their personal image. As they develop their own identity, teenagers often become more self-conscious and sensitive about how they are perceived, especially on social media where these photos might be shared.”
“Teenagers withdrawing their consent to appear in family photos reflects their growing desire for privacy,” founder of the motherhood social-media app Carol said
Image credits: parisfury1
Image credits: lifeascamii_
As for Michelle Harris, the conversation with her son has made her rethink some of her assumptions as a parent and member of an older generation. “As parents we want to capture it all,” she said. “Their first step, every tooth, the braces, the spots and then we proudly post in our online social circles mindlessly without stopping to think how damaging this can be to our youngsters within their own online social groups.”
Parenting author Amanda Jenner considers the “nose cover” a valid way for teens to safeguard their identities
Image credits: parisfury1
“After all, I wouldn’t feel comfortable about a spotty photo of me being shared online either — would you?,” one parent asked
@hey.its.aryyyyyLike get tf out♬ MDG X JAGGER – Mr.Goat🫡
Harris isn’t worried her son is getting bullied anymore, but she is sure to be more careful when posting photos of him online. Specifically, she believes “we should be asking our teenagers for their consent and making negotiations about what we can and can’t post.”
“After all, I wouldn’t feel comfortable about a spotty photo of me being shared online either — would you?”
“Just screenshot any of the 5,000 selfies on their Instagram and photoshop them in,” one reader joked
So, let me get this straight, the girl in the tiktok has no problem dancing and wriggling around in a little bit of cloth but is actually covering her nose in fear of being teased? I don’t get it……the dancing looks more ridiculous to me to be honest……
There's an old joke about this. Two guys go skinny dipping in what they thought was a quiet lake, and as they're getting out, a group of people arrives. One guy covers his privates, the other guy covers his face, saying "I don't know about you, but for me, it's my face they'll recognize."
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I totally get this. I have an agreement with my tweens. They let me take all the pictures of them I want for my personal memories and I dont post anything to social media or send to family unless they consent. Respect. It's really not that hard.
Yes. This. My husband died in his sleep a few years ago, and I wish we'd taken more pictures. My son and I have made an effort to take more, and of both of us. I told him that if he doesn't want me to post pics, that's fine, but it's not OK for our memories to be full of "talk to the hand."
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I get this. I'm a grown adult. I haven't let my family take a picture of me since the advent of facebook. They have no discretion and will post anything they feel like. i didn't think to cover my face, but I caused many a family tussle by just not wanting my photo taken. You know the way to solve this? Get peoples permission before posting group photos. Or you'll be living without photos.
My then-13-year-old granddaughter (now 14, no change) does this in all of her photos/(private-not-publicly-published) vids. I asked her why, and she said: "I hate my nose. It's too big" (it's not, btw). Her bf at school does the same thing for the same reason, so, to me (at least), it seems more about 'perceived' physical appearance, and being embarrassed by what they believe to be true.
Yeah, and I have learned from teaching high schoolers that this feeling is nearly universal among teens and is just developmentally "normal". You probably won't be able to talk them out of it for a few good years yet, if at all... Better to let them feel comfortable!
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"...out of control teens like this..." Yeah, how dare they ask for an ounce of autonomy. Guys like that David O'Neill up there are the type who'd send their kid to one of those Scared Straight Boot Camps for getting a B on their report card.
I can't imagine my kids doing that since, you know, I haven't put pics of them on social media since they were babies. All that unwanted exposure is sooooo going to create issues later. And not just the photos, but the info too. Insurance be like "oh, but your mother posted here that you have this chronic disease?". Potential employer be like "eeerr we don't really like the attitude you shown on that post" and so on.
So people running wild with personal info on public forums isn’t working out all nice and fun??? Shocking, who would have guessed that the desire for privacy in an individual’s personal life would be valuable. Strange how 100000 years of evolution doesn’t disappear overnight because of something like internet.
The only stupid ones are the ones taking videos of themselves with the hand on their nose.. wouldn't it be easier to just not show your face? Otherwise I like the teens hiding their face in group pics, you never know what kind of lunatic you can attract.
Bad takes: "They put their faces all over instagram all the time anyway!!! ....They're going to hate that all their photos in the future had their face covered." Which is it? Anyway, the point is that when they put their faces on instagram, they have control of what their image looks like and whether it is being made public or not. When somebody is taking a group photo and might post it online without your consent, you have no control, either over what you look like, editing, or where and when it will be posted. It's a totally different thing. Just because I'm a host on a TV show doesn't mean that I want people taking candid photos of me in my underwear without my consent and posting them online.
We could just STOP posting stuff. That won’t stop you from keeping and looking at your. family photos. People who you have to post for really don’t care about your photos they just want to post theirs so they have to look at yours. Just stop. I like the making photo books for relatives idea
They are simply learning from the mistakes of previous generations. As for the "5000 selfies", that was with their consent, or before they realized the potential hazards. Few people would argue that social media, constant surveillance, etc, has had harmful, embarrassing, or regretful side-effects - this is merely a response to those effects.
An ex I was dating a year ago took a picture of us while I was napping, and I hate that it might still exist somewhere. How would I know? I don’t. Kudos to these people, a fie on the whiners.
As a .other of 3 kids I understand this. We are doing our best to keep photos of them off of SoMe. We have, however, slowly begun a tradition of making a photobook with the best pics from the past year as a gift to grand- and great-grandparents for Christmas. There are several reasons for us to keep the kids' faces off SoMe. The main one being their future: if they get to be the boss of some big firm or the president or whatever (you get the idea) it probably wouldn't be great for their carreer that you could find embarrassing childhood photos of them (sitting on the potty, temper tantrums, weird "I chose my own outfit today"-styles etc). Also, because of predators, of course. And also because I/we just hate facebooks that are 90% or more content about kids or pets only. We are considered silly because of this by many, but I don't care. It's an attempt to look after our kids -both now and later.
I don’t think this is weird at all. There are no pictures of my face on social media, and it’s absurd to think that there should be.
Why does it have to be a TikTok? That makes this post boring and bad content.
My 16 year old niece spent 2 hours getting ready to go to the pumpkin patch with us last year, and said she was so excited to take pictures out there. Her and her brother spent the entire time taking pictures….hours. BUT….every picture she took (1000s no lie) she had her face covered in every one. She would hang her arm on top of her head and let her hand dangle in front of her face. I don’t get that generation at all lol
I'd rather see the 'hand' than those creepy filtered photos that make people look like they've have their faces sandblasted off.
Imagine getting mad because acpetson doesn't consent to pics. Yeah, treat the like a person not your property. Or maybe promise certain family photos stay off social media. Not everybody cares as much as you think. Except Memaw, she cares more then you think.
It is a pathetic TREND that they are following, there is not hidden message, they are sheep, just doing what others are doing
Why can't they just not attach their friends to their irl families social media accounts? I dunno if it's generational, but keeping family/work accounts separate from your 'actual' accounts has been standard practice since the AOL days. You never want Grandma to see what you posted to Discord or the like.
Perhaps a bit of enlightenment about not caring what everyone else thinks is in order. Instead we internalize other's opinions of us and react accordingly. Maybe it's time others worry about what we think of their nose, eyes, height, hair, pores, colon, gallbladder... Think about what kind of world we're creating here.
Facial recognition apps are freely available for under $500. Given a single picture of a person they trawl through literally billions of images to give matching results from the internet. Even if you were just a passer-by, or in the back of someone else's shot, even if you were completely unaware of the existence of the picture. It's not about what other people think, it's about protecting yourself from the snooping eyes of the digital world.
Load More Replies... So, let me get this straight, the girl in the tiktok has no problem dancing and wriggling around in a little bit of cloth but is actually covering her nose in fear of being teased? I don’t get it……the dancing looks more ridiculous to me to be honest……
There's an old joke about this. Two guys go skinny dipping in what they thought was a quiet lake, and as they're getting out, a group of people arrives. One guy covers his privates, the other guy covers his face, saying "I don't know about you, but for me, it's my face they'll recognize."
Load More Replies... I totally get this. I have an agreement with my tweens. They let me take all the pictures of them I want for my personal memories and I dont post anything to social media or send to family unless they consent. Respect. It's really not that hard.
Yes. This. My husband died in his sleep a few years ago, and I wish we'd taken more pictures. My son and I have made an effort to take more, and of both of us. I told him that if he doesn't want me to post pics, that's fine, but it's not OK for our memories to be full of "talk to the hand."
Load More Replies... I get this. I'm a grown adult. I haven't let my family take a picture of me since the advent of facebook. They have no discretion and will post anything they feel like. i didn't think to cover my face, but I caused many a family tussle by just not wanting my photo taken. You know the way to solve this? Get peoples permission before posting group photos. Or you'll be living without photos.
My then-13-year-old granddaughter (now 14, no change) does this in all of her photos/(private-not-publicly-published) vids. I asked her why, and she said: "I hate my nose. It's too big" (it's not, btw). Her bf at school does the same thing for the same reason, so, to me (at least), it seems more about 'perceived' physical appearance, and being embarrassed by what they believe to be true.
Yeah, and I have learned from teaching high schoolers that this feeling is nearly universal among teens and is just developmentally "normal". You probably won't be able to talk them out of it for a few good years yet, if at all... Better to let them feel comfortable!
Load More Replies... "...out of control teens like this..." Yeah, how dare they ask for an ounce of autonomy. Guys like that David O'Neill up there are the type who'd send their kid to one of those Scared Straight Boot Camps for getting a B on their report card.
I can't imagine my kids doing that since, you know, I haven't put pics of them on social media since they were babies. All that unwanted exposure is sooooo going to create issues later. And not just the photos, but the info too. Insurance be like "oh, but your mother posted here that you have this chronic disease?". Potential employer be like "eeerr we don't really like the attitude you shown on that post" and so on.
So people running wild with personal info on public forums isn’t working out all nice and fun??? Shocking, who would have guessed that the desire for privacy in an individual’s personal life would be valuable. Strange how 100000 years of evolution doesn’t disappear overnight because of something like internet.
The only stupid ones are the ones taking videos of themselves with the hand on their nose.. wouldn't it be easier to just not show your face? Otherwise I like the teens hiding their face in group pics, you never know what kind of lunatic you can attract.
Bad takes: "They put their faces all over instagram all the time anyway!!! ....They're going to hate that all their photos in the future had their face covered." Which is it? Anyway, the point is that when they put their faces on instagram, they have control of what their image looks like and whether it is being made public or not. When somebody is taking a group photo and might post it online without your consent, you have no control, either over what you look like, editing, or where and when it will be posted. It's a totally different thing. Just because I'm a host on a TV show doesn't mean that I want people taking candid photos of me in my underwear without my consent and posting them online.
We could just STOP posting stuff. That won’t stop you from keeping and looking at your. family photos. People who you have to post for really don’t care about your photos they just want to post theirs so they have to look at yours. Just stop. I like the making photo books for relatives idea
They are simply learning from the mistakes of previous generations. As for the "5000 selfies", that was with their consent, or before they realized the potential hazards. Few people would argue that social media, constant surveillance, etc, has had harmful, embarrassing, or regretful side-effects - this is merely a response to those effects.
An ex I was dating a year ago took a picture of us while I was napping, and I hate that it might still exist somewhere. How would I know? I don’t. Kudos to these people, a fie on the whiners.
As a .other of 3 kids I understand this. We are doing our best to keep photos of them off of SoMe. We have, however, slowly begun a tradition of making a photobook with the best pics from the past year as a gift to grand- and great-grandparents for Christmas. There are several reasons for us to keep the kids' faces off SoMe. The main one being their future: if they get to be the boss of some big firm or the president or whatever (you get the idea) it probably wouldn't be great for their carreer that you could find embarrassing childhood photos of them (sitting on the potty, temper tantrums, weird "I chose my own outfit today"-styles etc). Also, because of predators, of course. And also because I/we just hate facebooks that are 90% or more content about kids or pets only. We are considered silly because of this by many, but I don't care. It's an attempt to look after our kids -both now and later.
I don’t think this is weird at all. There are no pictures of my face on social media, and it’s absurd to think that there should be.
Why does it have to be a TikTok? That makes this post boring and bad content.
My 16 year old niece spent 2 hours getting ready to go to the pumpkin patch with us last year, and said she was so excited to take pictures out there. Her and her brother spent the entire time taking pictures….hours. BUT….every picture she took (1000s no lie) she had her face covered in every one. She would hang her arm on top of her head and let her hand dangle in front of her face. I don’t get that generation at all lol
I'd rather see the 'hand' than those creepy filtered photos that make people look like they've have their faces sandblasted off.
Imagine getting mad because acpetson doesn't consent to pics. Yeah, treat the like a person not your property. Or maybe promise certain family photos stay off social media. Not everybody cares as much as you think. Except Memaw, she cares more then you think.
It is a pathetic TREND that they are following, there is not hidden message, they are sheep, just doing what others are doing
Why can't they just not attach their friends to their irl families social media accounts? I dunno if it's generational, but keeping family/work accounts separate from your 'actual' accounts has been standard practice since the AOL days. You never want Grandma to see what you posted to Discord or the like.
Perhaps a bit of enlightenment about not caring what everyone else thinks is in order. Instead we internalize other's opinions of us and react accordingly. Maybe it's time others worry about what we think of their nose, eyes, height, hair, pores, colon, gallbladder... Think about what kind of world we're creating here.
Facial recognition apps are freely available for under $500. Given a single picture of a person they trawl through literally billions of images to give matching results from the internet. Even if you were just a passer-by, or in the back of someone else's shot, even if you were completely unaware of the existence of the picture. It's not about what other people think, it's about protecting yourself from the snooping eyes of the digital world.
Load More Replies...
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