To the Future Digital Archeologists: This is a Real Human Face

Dear future digital archeologists,

I’m writing from the year 2026.
I don’t know if the internet will still exist in 50, 100 or 200 years.
I don’t know if my website will still exist, but I really hope so.
I don’t know who and when you will read this.

But I do hope that humanity is making real progress toward building the New Earth - that the old paradigm has crumbled for good, and people are doing far better than we are now.
Anyway, in case you’re researching what humans looked like at the beginning of the 21st century:

I hereby submit two pictures of a real human face without makeup, plastic surgery, filters or AI.

TV, movies, social media, the beauty and fashion industy (and many more) has completely fcked up a whole generation of young women. From a young age, we compared ourselves us to photoshopped and surgically altered faces and bodies, buying heavily advertised creams and make up to feel closer to an unreal ideal - a beauty standard that has no limits.

(One heartbreaking story I recently heard was from an English teacher I met in Taiwan: she told me that after COVID, some teenagers continued wearing masks, hiding their faces, because they didn’t like the way they looked.)

Eating disorders, plastic surgery, compulsive shopping, mental health crises, pathological comparisons and an obsession with not looking human has become the norm these days.

Growing up surrounded by a primarily white environment in Germany with very little exposure to Asian representation, I used to wonder if boys would like me more if I had lighter skin, blonde hair, longer lashes or bigger eyes. (I did find out later that my ‘exotic’ appearance did attract men, but this didn’t really make me feel better long-term.)

I had an experimental phase later where I dyed my hair all kinds of colors (purple and blonde were my favourites), got some tattoos, piercings and wore only black.
It gave me some confidence in terms of ‘my body, my choice’ for a while, but:
I was still looking at myself through the sexualised and distorted lens of the (Western) beauty industry and the male gaze.

Eventually I got so fed up with the world and unwanted attention (not only in regard to the beauty standards) that I ended up in a spiritual community in nature for two years, and shaved my head to 8mm at age 25.

So I only began to genuinely like my face in recent years.

I began to like it when I wasn’t constantly surrounded by ads anymore.
I began to like it when I spent more time in nature than on screens.
I began to like it when was surrounded by real people with real faces who weren’t afraid of fully living or hiding from their pain.
I began to like it when I stopped thinking there was something wrong in the first place.

I began to appreciate the way my eyes shine when I’m happy, my lips curve up when I smile, or my brows pull together when I’m confused.
I began to appreciate the way my face translates the full spectrum of human emotions I feel on a daily basis.

I admit: I could have taken better care of my skin in my early 20s - putting on more sun screen might have prevented some dark spots. I should stop playing with my hair so much and eat more hair-friendly nutrients. And these days, I definitely need to sleep properly.

My mom regularly warns me about wrinkles if I frown too much. Well, I can’t suppress my emotions in order to look like a botox robot, but I started using guasha and a 5€ anti-wrinkle cream.

I do like to put on makeup and dress up occasionally. I’m all in favor of people doing whatever they want to feel good about themselves - while hoping for their motivations to be of intrinsic nature.
I just noticed that being in specific environments (e.g. social media & the city), I suddenly spend way more time thinking about spending money to optimize my appearance and judging my looks.

It makes me want to show my bare face even more, maybe also signaling to people younger than me:
You can be happy looking natural.

Currently, I’m reflecting a lot about aging.

I’m approaching 30.
Soon, wrinkles will stay permanently. I know that my Asian genes will slow the process a little bit, but I still want to continue living consciously. Eat healthy, move enough.

I’ll never look like 20 again.
I’ll never be 20 again.

And honestly, sometimes I do grieve my youth and my innocence.
I don’t want to fight the unpreventable change.
I don’t want to be 20 again.
I know that I’ll laugh about these sentences in a few years.

But I want to capture the sentiment in this very moment.
Do my best to embrace everything that comes.

Enough from me.
Being human is so complex.
I’m curious if you can still relate to this in the next generations!
How you will classify the madness of our current age.
I want to age gracefully and live at least until 100 to see it for myself even.

I hope this contribution finds you well in the midst of the noise in the (digital) world.

Take care,
Nina

P.S. Excuse the different lightings and image sizes - I didn’t want to filter anything as promised.