The Internet’s Obsession With Aesthetics

The word “aesthetic” has probably become one of the most overused terms on the internet. 

While the word has numerous meanings—“the distinctive underlying principles of a work of art or a genre,” for one—I am particularly referring to the way social media culture defines it. Here, an “aesthetic” is a curated style or mood that defines every aspect of your life: your clothes, your hobbies, and your internet presence. 

There are endless types of aesthetics that the internet has come up with. Cottagecore, Dark Academia, Light Academia, Clean Girl, Y2K, Coquette, Granola, Old Money, Coastal Cowgirl, Grandmacore, Pastel Goth, Soft Girl, Weirdcore–the list goes on. 

Of course, putting people into visual categories isn’t new. In 2019, the “VSCO girl” and the “Alt Girl” dominated social media trends. But over time, these subgroups have become increasingly specific—almost comically so. Now, each aesthetic comes with an unspoken rulebook for how to dress, behave, and present yourself to the world. Dark Academia, for instance, is defined by muted browns, dark tones, plaid patterns, black coffee, old books and libraries, an interest in ancient philosophers, candlelight, black leather loafers, poetry, and classical music. It’s all so specific. 

Aesthetics have always been tied to visuals, and naturally, we want our surroundings and self-expression to feel cohesive. There’s nothing wrong with wanting your apartment decor or vacation outfits to look put together. But the modern concept of an “aesthetic” goes beyond visual appeal—it’s become an entire identity, and one that people feel pressured to embody fully. 

This helps explain why finding your “personal aesthetic” and curating your life around that aesthetic has become so engrained in pop culture. Belonging to an aesthetic can provide us with a sense of community, and also gives us a shortcut to identity itself. It serves as a way to say “this is who I am” through a recognizable set of visuals and interests. When identity can feel overwhelming and uncertain, aesthetics offer a certain level of clarity and belonging. 

One major issue with aesthetics, however, is that they can also box people in. When you’ve carefully curated your life around a specific aesthetic, it can feel uncomfortable or even wrong to step outside of it. It can be discouraging to try new hobbies or different styles because they don’t align with your “brand.” A “coastal cowgirl,” after all, would never listen to heavy metal. 

But this is not how real identity functions. People change, our interests shift, our tastes evolve, and our identities grow with us. Aesthetics, on the other hand, capture a single “vibe” and freeze it in time, ignoring the fluidity of real life. 

This pressure is especially amplified on social media. If a set of pictures doesn’t match the carefully curated image that you have created for yourself, then chances are you’re not going to press the “publish” button. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a visually pleasing Instagram feed. The problem arises when curation turns into distortion. When everyone is sharing polished, aesthetic versions of their lives, it fuels the unrealistic expectations that social media has already done such a good job at creating. Life starts to feel like it always has to look good, instead of just being something you experience.

These hyper-specific aesthetics also encourage overconsumption. In order to truly “fit” into a certain aesthetic, you are told you need a specific set of items: the right clothes, the right skincare, the right home decor. On TikTok, the “Clean Girl” aesthetic, just to use one example, is reinforced through endless videos promoting neutral-toned matching sets and yet another pair of chunky gold earrings as essentials. As trends shift quickly and new micro-aesthetics introduce another list of must-haves, identity seems to become tied to purchasing power. What’s marketed as individuality often leads to mass consumption, which, ironically, becomes uniformity. 

I want to make it clear that aesthetics aren’t inherently bad. They can be fun, inspiring, and even comforting, providing us with language to describe the styles we enjoy. The issue lies in when they start to define us completely. When we reduce ourselves to one “vibe,” we lose the freedom to be contradictory and evolving. At the end of the day, a meaningful life isn’t about how it looks, but how it feels. And unlike any trend, that’s not something you can fit into a category.

• aesthetics
• culture
• identity
• social media
• style
• tiktok