If you have frequented popular apps such as Tumblr or Tiktok from 2010 to now, chances are you have heard of a wide variety of online “aesthetics.” Aesthetics have transcended their original meaning and created a unique culture among those who openly participate in it — however, this culture that started off as a way to showcase unique style characteristics and combinations has quickly turned into a close-knit guide that has warped many’s own perception of self and formed a box around them. 

In its modern meaning, aesthetic has come to mean many things, but primarily a person’s physical style and even their lifestyle. This new definition can date back to multiple online trends, but the most popular and arguably the most influential start of the modern “aesthetic” can be traced back to the rise of Tumblr in the 2010s. 

Tumblr has options to share text, but primarily is an image-sharing platform. When you show interest in an image, another one similar to the one you liked shows up on  your feed. Soon, with little effort, your feed will be filled with photos showcasing the range of styles and random creations you liked. If you liked a lot of dark, gritty style photos, you would begin to see “grunge” related posts. If softer colors were more your thing, but you still liked the grit, “soft grunge” would infect your feed. Through this, the endless combination of various photos on different feeds slowly started the aesthetic culture we know today.

As aesthetics became a mass trend, they began to pop up on other websites such as Instagram and Pinterest. Grunge, scene, hipster, vaporwave — all different combinations of colors and lifestyles began to show up everywhere on the internet. In 2019, “niche aesthetic” memes became increasingly popular, taking individual items of clothing or products and combining them with other items to create a unified aesthetic. These “memes” would often feature short lines of text, completely stylizing everything in an aesthetic down to the way people would text and/or talk. 

While aesthetic culture began as a way to showcase personal styles and gain inspiration for decorations, thrift goals and healthier lifestyle decisions, quickly became a downward slope towards stylistic and overconsumption competitions, where the aesthetic culture rests now with the fame and popularity of TikTok.

In recent years, the idea of an “aesthetic” has gone from a combination of ideas and pieces that curate your own personal style, to a style-guide in which you must follow in order to achieve some form of modern beauty. 

Old money, quiet luxury, coastal grandmother, office siren and even tomato-girl summer are among some of the rising modern aesthetics that can be seen showcased around the internet. One of these popular aesthetics is the coquette aesthetic.  The TikTok coquette aesthetic can range from soft pinks to dark reds and features pearls, cigarettes, bows and most notably, anything related to Lana Del Rey. However, this aesthetic tends to promote a very dainty feminine image, mostly serving those with thinner and paler body types, completely making those who do not fit into that shape feel as if they are not able to wear the aesthetic. 

Modern aesthetics have also seen a rise in insecurity, as they place an emphasis on perfection rather than reality. Young teens searching for themselves often come across these aesthetics and feel they must follow them exactly, creating a toxic online space for those who don’t follow these aesthetics or buy a set standard of products that align within an aesthetic. This in turn promotes aesthetic-related overconsumption. 

Often in aesthetics, there is a set foundation of products or certain clothing pieces that are a staple for the style, and those who want to have that style often feel as if they have to buy those products. In many cases, this leads people to buy from fast fashion brands that primarily use sweatshops to search for the exact clothing piece they need to fit into their aesthetic, and because aesthetics come in trends, popular products within an aesthetic also become trends, leading to people buying multiple things that they may not need solely because it is a staple of what they believe their style to be.

While these issues are not exclusive to the idea of modern day aesthetics, the presence of them in an already toxic digital-focused society creates new risks and impacts on mental health and individual self-esteem. “Self-surveillance” takes place when a person constantly changes small areas of their life in order to fit an aesthetic, such as someone changing their already established skincare or makeup routine in order to fit into the “clean girl” aesthetic.

One of the biggest personal issues that is seen within aesthetic culture is the suppression of individuality. Rather than combining notes from multiple aesthetics and creating their own, they follow their chosen aesthetic like a rulebook, and anything that is not featured in it, even if they enjoy it, is pushed down and suppressed. 

Although the beginnings of the culture around aesthetics were never perfect itself, the values it held desperately need to resurface to combat the insecurity and overconsumption culture of modern aesthetics. Rather than applying an aesthetic to every aspect of one’s life, people should take note of the style niches and colors they enjoy and incorporate them into their own way of living. 

While the modern day definition and culture around aesthetics fosters a toxic mindset that kills off the individual personality, there is hope that the culture can be reversed into its original image and platforms like TikTok and Pinterests can be flooded once more with creative directions of individuality that inspire and push people to find joy in the small details that allow them to fully express themselves.