The Hyper-Active Digital Landscape Of So-Called “Aesthetics”
In the ever evolving digital landscape, aesthetics have become more than just visual preferences—they are now vital components of identity formation and self-expression, particularly among teens and young adults.
The impulse for classification is a staple of internet life. Platforms like TikTok aren't just social networks; they’re vibrant canvases for self-expression. And thanks to the Aesthetics Wiki, a treasure trove of styles from cottagecore's pastoral bliss to vaporwave’s retro-futurism, users can explore and define their online tribes. Here, you will find not only large categories like Emo, Y2K, VSCO, academia, but categories so niche and head-scratching (Windows 95 bliss??) that it’s clear teens and 20-somethings are styling themselves in the image of subcultures in which they may or may not have participated in real life…they are sifting through the internet archives and remixing what they find to have it take on new meaning. Case in point: a bubbling “scene” where teens are leaning into nostalgic aesthetics by returning to the pop-punk days of MySpace and the Vans Warped Tour.
The New York Times points out that "these aesthetics are more like cultural atmospheres, performed mainly online, with names and looks and hashtags, an easy visual pablum…They have much content but little context — a lot to look at but a very thin relationship to any real life anything...There are girls who enjoy the color red and a certain Euro effortlessness, and they are called Tomato Girls, while others who prefer white are called Vanilla Girls."
Marketers have quickly jumped on trending aesthetics served out of obscurity thanks to social media algorithms. According to VOX, “after cottagecore went viral on TikTok, it morphed into something concretely buyable. It became a lifestyle to emulate via mass consumption through nap dresses, woven bags, rustic home trinkets, and a room’s worth of potted plants. It’s hard to tell where the joke begins and ends, but that’s probably the point. A new vibe – or form of self-expression – is only a swipe away from “add to cart.”