Not all social media filters are created equal. There have been some truly frightening experiences out there when Instagram or TikTok purports to be able to turn users into a celebrity, swap their genders or otherwise alter their image. Just take the viral Friends filter that Courteney Cox tried out on herself: You know it’s pretty bad if even she couldn’t figure out which of her faces was supposed to be Monica. One aging filter, however, which a TikTok user applied to the same sitcom’s cast, returned some eerily accurate images.
The popularity of Friends has not waned that much in the two decades since its final episode aired on NBC in 2004, thanks in large part to near-constant reruns on cable and the entire series available to stream on Max. The familiarity of Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry and the rest of the cast’s characters make them popular subjects for many A.I.-generated images, and the below TikTok video almost makes it look like the actors today were digitally inserted into old scenes! Check it out:
@saniezehraa ♬ The Bug Collector - Haley Heynderickx
The cool thing about this using the aging filter on the Friends cast is that we actually know what those actors look like now, since it’s been nearly 30 years since the show’s premiere. It’s also been only a couple of years since the cast reunited on the old set, giving a strange familiarity to the digitally aged characters in the TikTok video.
When an artist used artificial intelligence to reimagine the Friends characters as kids, the comparisons were not quite as accurate (or easily comparable).
Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe and David Schwimmer’s Ross, to me, look the most like their real-life portrayers, but it seemed like everyone in the comments had their own opinion about who looked the most accurate. Strangely enough — or perhaps not strange at all — Jennifer Aniston didn’t pop up much in the post, and when she did, it didn’t appear that her Rachel had gotten any older. Many people amusingly pointed out that the technology even nailed that aspect of the actors’ current looks. Some of the comments included:
- Even the filter says Jennifer Aniston never ages. – Ally Garrard
- Wait .. Jennifer Aniston did not age 🤔 – Shann_McC
- My girl aged like the finest wine 😭✋ – regulus_black_cant_swim
- frkn Rachel!!! I need to know her skin care! PRONTO – alea.8g
Others didn’t like what the filter meant for their own futures, as the Friends cast seemed to prove they were getting a pretty accurate prediction of what they will look like in the decades to come. TikTok users wrote:
- If it’s this accurate it means I-😭😭😭😭😭 – fiiloeee
- I started saving up for plastic surgery since I saw mine 😂 – TheHolicraft
- Wait.. If this is actually accurate. BRO I DON’T WANNA GET OLD I LOOK DEAD – zainabazharr_
- Oh hell no. I saw myself. 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Oh no – Audrine Rosnovski
As Jennifer Aniston says, aging is inevitable, and there’s always the chance that the years will be kinder to you than the filter. If you want to catch all of the Friends back in their earlier decades, all 10 seasons of the comedy are available with an HBO Max subscription.
