Instagram aesthetic refers to the overall look and vibe that your Instagram profile has. Social media influencers in particular have been known to put a lot of work into curating their Instagram aesthetic, often taking hours out of their week just to edit and plan out posts for their profile to look uniform and on brand.
Though most of us might not take our Instagrams as seriously as social media influencers do, how we present ourselves online is still an important part of our everyday life. We want people to like us, and our Instagrams are almost like an online extension of us, or at least serve as a visual representation of how we want to be seen.
Image via Instagram / Mia Stammer
As a result, pictures we take of beautiful beaches we’ve visited and bougie brunches we’ve had undoubtedly make it onto our Instagrams. Group photos from a huge party, outfits at Coachella, and selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower all also easiliy fall into the “Insta-worthy” category. It’s a no-brainer that pictures like these will make it onto our feed but how often is it that we post highlights from our life that are not as visually glamorous?
Many of us today care so much about what photos go onto our Instagram. Sometimes, we don’t post certain photos because they don’t compliment our feed. Other times, because we don’t look as attractive as we’d want or don’t think the photo will get as many likes as we’d usually get. Though we can so quickly find reasons for not posting these kinds of photos, there’s still a contemplation we go through because the photos themselves represent a memory we care about, so it feels like a shame to not post them.
Image via Food & Wine Magazine
When I look back at photos from the pre-Instagram era, I see a lot that I probably wouldn’t consider Insta-worthy today. Some are goofy, some are embarassing, but while they’re not always the most flattering or aesthetically pleasing photos, they bring back old memories that I cherish and/or otherwise might have forgotten. In doing so, I feel like these pictures served their purpose.
Of course, having a nice Instagram aesthetic can be a fun way to express yourself and exercise your creativity, but you shouldn’t let that stop you from posting pictures you love. At the end of the day, how Insta-worthy your pictures are isn’t what’s going to matter, it’s the memories behind them.