Ugly or Pretty? Ask the Ugly Meter

Beauty may be only skin deep but it is getting a lot of attention thanks to an app that has become an unlikely bestseller after a mention on the Howard Stern show. The Ugly Meter is designed to determine a person’s looks on a scale of 1-10.

All users need to do is take a picture of themselves (or other people) with their smartphone. The app then scans the image, measuring facial symmetry and contours. The score is returned along with a comment like “Your face looks like it was in the dryer with a bunch of rocks.” The remarks and the photo can then be posted on social media sites.

While the developers, Jo Overline and Ryan Allen, claim it is only meant for fun, some parents and adults worry this focus on the beauty may damage self-esteem or aggravate bullying between tweens and teens.

In an article on Mobility Digest, Dr Gwenn O’Keeffe warns, “There’s a fine line between teasing and razzing one another…[This app] is just hurtful. It could have crushing blows on kids with low self-esteem. There’s just nothing good that could come from an app like this.”

It’s just one more thing for parents to talk to their kids about!