What’s your aesthetic?
Is it “Ballet core”? “Downtown girl”? “Pink Pilates princess”?
There’s a chance that sometime during your life, you’ve tried to find your aesthetic or your niche. Even I can admit to it, in the past I’ve tried dressing a certain way, acting a certain way, and trying to do my makeup in a different style. But I feel that these niches are often ways of us trying to fit in, so we have a community– somewhere to belong.
With the rise of social media over the years, aesthetic lifestyles and niches began to grow in popularity. I can remember when the aesthetic of “pink Pilates princesses” became popular. People all over social media were posting them wearing all pink outfits, buying Pilates equipment, and attending classes for the first time. From this, small communities began to form for people who liked this niche lifestyle.
I think it’s easy to get swept up in all the confusion while trying to figure out who you are. Throughout the years, we easily go through different hobbies and interests to figure out what we like best. That’s why I believe that it’s easy for young people to confuse niches or hobbies with their identity.
With some content creators’ entire pages being dedicated to one aesthetic or niche, it’s no surprise that some young people start to feel as if their niche has become their entire personality as well.
Children can start developing a sense of identity as early as five years old, as stated in an article published by King’s College London. As children’s brains develop, they start to understand different interests. In my personal experience, while growing up, I used to love crafting and doing physical art like drawing, sewing, and clay sculpting.
As I got older, I kept the same creative interest but simply changed forms with my love for creative writing. I think that this important concerning development in children so that they can experiment with different things to figure out what they like.
Though when we become interested in said hobby, there’s a huge chance we start to compare ourselves to others, and that grows even more with social media. For example, if I just started to get back into drawing, I might check out platforms like Tumblr to find a community of people in the same hobby or fandom as me. While that can start as a good thing, it would be very easy for me to start comparing my art to that of others in the same community.
This can easily trigger thoughts for people like “I’ll never be as good an artist as they are” and “my work sucks”. Over time with this mindset, self-confidence can become chipped away & could overall increase anxiety about sharing things with others.
With the ability to see everyone in the world with the same hobby or interest as you on the internet, I believe that it’s very easy to start having thoughts of being average in your skill, and that’s where the pressure from these communities becomes harmful. It can easily become a breeding ground for insecurities to start and get worse over time which is why I feel it’s important to understand that everyone has skill levels, and the fact that there’s something you enjoy doing is amazing.
I’m not writing this to say that posting about your niche or hobby on social media is terrible; it can be a great way to make new friends and get tips. I’ve met some great people from social media, and I’ve received wonderful feedback on creative writing pieces from strangers who want to help. Social media can help you find a community of like-minded people that you enjoy being around. But in my opinion, it’s important to have a healthy balance in order not to start hating or neglecting your hobby or interest.
People change every day; you’re not stuck with one aesthetic because you posted about it so much or built friendships around it. You’re allowed to change, to grow, and figure out who you are over time. I feel that being happy with who you are, and self-acceptance is the most important thing. Finding out who you are as a person is not something that can be done overnight; it’s about allowing yourself to grow with freedom, not shame.