Internet aesthetic

Overview

Internet aesthetic is personal style that comes from or is expressed on the internet and is formed by users’ personal interests. It usually centers around objects, places, colors, clothing, music, media, ideas, and other aspects of modern culture that connect under the theme. It is popular in online spaces such as social media as a way for users to express their identity and easily connect with others. Internet aesthetics have become a factor personally, economically, and politically. Internet aesthetics have allowed for community in a way that was not possible before. In decades past, if a person preferred dark clothing and rock music, only individuals who saw that person in the community would know about it. With the use of social media, users can broadcast their aesthetic to a wider audience, allowing them to connect and communicate with others who share these aesthetics and interests.

Before personal computers and smaller, handheld communication devices with internet connectivity became widely available, expression of personal style and aesthetics was primarily influenced by print and broadcast media including magazines, films, and television programs. By the mid-1990s, computers were affordable enough to be accessible to most consumers. By 1999, 26.2 percent of Americans had a computer at home. By 2000, almost 50 percent of American homes had the devices.

As access to computers grew, so did interest in social media. Blogs started to grow in popularity with the launch of the platform LiveJournal at the end of the twentieth century. Users were able to communicate with others online, be it friends, family, or strangers, through text posts about their lives or hobbies. In 2003, the social media website Myspace was created. It allowed users to design their homepages, choosing their own colors, fonts, and music to play. Users posted and shared images and text that they curated to their own tastes, organizing their pages to fit whatever theme they chose. This was the first widely used platform for digital personal expression, but within a few years, its popularity waned.

Users began to flock to Tumblr, a blog-based social media platform, in 2007. Tumblr was designed to give users an easy, free-form blogging experience. Users could share media of all forms, including images, music, and text. When building their pages, users would build their experience around a theme, such as an aesthetic or show they liked. Users could create collages of images that fit their theme or repost collages made by others. Many users only posted or reposted items that would match the theme of their blog, ensuring a cohesive look. The exponential growth during this time allowed for the creation of AestheticsWiki, a community site that contains an extensive list of internet aesthetics, key elements, suggested clothing, and even visual subgroups. By 2024, it contained more than five hundred entries in nine categories, such as Genre Fiction and Fashion Styles. This growing database allowed for additional categorization and inclusion of aesthetics.

The photo sharing social media website Instagram debuted in 2010. It was created by Kevin Systrom, who added photo posting to a location check-in app. Users could share their photos with friends and family. As the site grew in popularity, so did the number of photographers who shared images of their aesthetic, building profiles that consisted of thematic images of flowers, buildings, or clothing that fit a specific theme. Users could follow other pages that matched their aesthetic, curating their own page to that theme as well as the images they saw in their feed.

The video platform YouTube also became a place to share details about one’s aesthetic online. Content creators would show clothing they bought, known as hauls, that fit their aesthetic. Creators would also post videos describing their typical day and how they fit their activities to their aesthetic; for example, the food they ate, furniture they bought, clothing they wore, and activities they did in their free time.

Around 2013, people began describing internet aesthetics as -cores. The suffix was popularized by the 1970s and 1980s hardcore genre, which split into subgenres. Trend forecasters began using the suffix -core to refer to an aesthetic style when they described normcore as the next big idea. Normcore describes a style born from internet users who could no longer find ways to be unique and go viral, and so sought to fit in.

Pinterest became a foundation for aesthetics in the late 2010s. The social network is a digital bulletin board where users can pin images and links to websites. Users can find images posted by others on the site and collect them into albums, which they name for themes and aesthetics. Users can also search for aesthetic images to add to their collections. Pinterest reported a growing interest in aesthetics since 2018, with searches for core aesthetic spiking 60 percent in 2021. These images allowed users to create collages or mood boards, which are collections of many images that fit the theme of an aesthetic.

In 2020, TikTok, a social media platform focused on short videos, rapidly grew in popularity with teens and young adults. Users create and share many videos regarding their internet aesthetics. Some videos include selections of many aesthetics, allowing users to find those that fit their style or interest. Some shorter videos depict the creator’s life in the aesthetic, similar to videos on YouTube. Other people use TikTok’s format to show images of buildings, scenes, or outfits that fit the theme in a slideshow with equally aesthetic music.

Internet aesthetics rapidly grew in popularity in 2020 during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many people were stuck indoors and took up hobbies such as knitting or baking. Many people were busily sewing masks. These quiet, calm activities fit into the cozy internet aesthetic of cottagecore. Others began ordering brightly colored, vibrant objects to entertain themselves at home. These bold, eclectic collections fit the internet aesthetic of cluttercore. During the pandemic, for many people, internet aesthetics made the leap from the digital realm to the real world.

The influence of internet aesthetics goes beyond personal style. It has made an impact in media and politics as well. Matching an internet aesthetic allows musicians such as Lorde to easily find users who are likely to listen to their music. Movies that fit an aesthetic, such as the Harry Potter films, market to those whose aesthetic fits into dark academia. Stores make clothing that matches common internet aesthetics, marketing to a specific group they may not have drawn before.

Further Insights

Many types of aesthetics have developed and more are emerging. Some are fairly mainstream, while others are niche. For example, dark academia conjures up images of gothic architecture, boarding schools, and ivy league colleges. It is based on academic life from the later decades of the nineteenth century until the 1940s. Aesthetic images include books, candles, handwritten letters, and paintings. Clothing of this aesthetic includes cardigans, blazers, plaid skirts, and oxford shoes. Activities of a dark academia lifestyle include visiting museums, writing in calligraphy, reading at the library, and studying at coffee shops. Imagery for dark academia began on Tumblr and moved into Instagram and TikTok. Examples of media relating to dark academia would be Harry Potter or books written by Lord Byron. Musicians such as the band Arctic Monkeys or classical music fit into this aesthetic.

Lolita is an internet aesthetic named after the 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov. It grew popular in the early 2010s on LiveJournal. It is based on the attire and attitude of the character Lolita. Clothing includes high-waisted shorts, heart-shaped glasses, and red lipstick. Objects and images include hearts, flowers, dolls, and vintage Americana settings. Musicians such as Lana Del Rey have fit into the Lolita aesthetic; the themes of her songs and several lyrics and song titles reference Lolita.

Cottagecore is an aesthetic focused on living quaintly. It was popularized during the Covid-19 pandemic, when people began working from and staying at home. It includes activities such as baking, knitting, spending time in nature, or farming. Cottagecore clothing includes long, flowing dresses; pinafores; aprons; and sweaters. Imagery and settings includes rural houses, stone cottages, forests, cozy nesting, dried flowers, and vintage aprons, as well as a sense of optimism. This aesthetic thrived during the pandemic due to the stress of the time, as nostalgia for simpler times helped many with stress. Music that fits this aesthetic includes Taylor Swift’s Folklore album and music by Harry Styles. Video games such as Animal Crossing are common in the aesthetic.

Another internet aesthetic that gained popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic is cluttercore, or maximalism. It involves living somewhat messily. Its ideals are bright colors and bold prints. Activities include collecting objects from nature and buying goods. Imagery is full of objects to catch the eye, such as packed shelves, glimmering trinkets, or the main bedroom seen in the 2004 animated Japanese film Howl’s Moving Castle. Cluttercore is the opposite of another aesthetic, minimalism, as popularized by Marie Condo’s tidying techniques. This aesthetic is defined by cleanliness, empty spaces, and perfect organization. It was likewise popular during the pandemic.

Goblincore is also an internet aesthetic that grew during the pandemic. It describes a life of fantasy and living alone in the woods. Images include homes full of dark wood furniture, shelves full of potted plants, mossy colors, and mushroom printed fabrics. Activities include isolation and reading tarot cards, collecting wild fruits and vegetables, and listening to the sounds of nature. Clothing in this aesthetic includes brown corduroy pants and tweed jackets. Media that fits this aesthetic includes The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Clean girl, an internet aesthetic that grew popular in 2021 and 2022, consists of wearing minimal makeup like lip balm instead of lipstick and tinted moisturizer instead of foundation. Fashion of the aesthetic consists of comfortable, casual clothes such as simple crop tops, loose-fitting high-waisted jeans, delicate gold jewelry, and athletic wear sets. Imagery and activities consist of healthy foods, exercise outdoors, and living in tidy, clean houses. It grew out of a desire to have comfortable, low-effort fashion and has been popularized by models such as Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber. Clothing brands like Aritzia have capitalized on the popularity of the aesthetic by offering matching athletic wear sets that fit into its ideas.

Gorpcore became popular in 2017 and continued through the Covid-19 pandemic. It gets its name from the popular hiking snack, gorp, or trail mix. The clothing of this aesthetic consists of windbreakers, fleece zip-up jackets, ponchos, hiking pants, sneakers, and hiking sandals. Activities include hiking, camping, fishing, and other outdoor interests. Imagery depicts forests, mountains, and hiking trails. Celebrities such as A$AP Rocky, Kendall Jenner, and Bella Hadid have embraced the aesthetic, and brands such as Patagonia and Columbia have seen growth due to the popularity of gorpcore. The internet aesthetic’s popularity may have increased in the United States because the nature-focused aesthetic shows support for climate issues, environmental groups, and policies. The aesthetic has also been called crunchy or granola, which have long been slang terms for hikers and lovers of the outdoors.

In 2023, the release of the movie Barbie inspired a rising popularity in Barbiecore. The aesthetic was characterized by vibrant colors, especially hot pink, and outfits and accessories inspired by the Mattel Barbie doll.

Issues

Some internet aesthetics have been controversial. The Lolita aesthetic, for example, has been the subject of heated debate due to its source material. The book on which it is based involves a minor teenage girl who is kidnapped by her stepfather, who abuses her sexually and psychologically. The book was banned in several countries, including the United Kingdom and France. Some say the aesthetic glamorizes the abuse in the novel and film adaptations, and that those who fall into this internet aesthetic are wrong for ignoring this aspect. Some people who moved away from this internet aesthetic claimed the community encouraged the romanticization of behaviors that were self-destructive, such as eating disorders.

Critics have noted many of the internet aesthetics prioritize White people and do not provide a space for people of color. For example, the cottagecore aesthetic can glorify a period that relied on slavery and racism. Some Black people have complained that the era is painful for them and that the clothing does not resonate with them. Cottagecore has also been criticized because the clothing focuses on slim people, and some have accused retailers of fatphobia. Some criticize the aesthetic because it offers unrealistic ideas of rural life, ignoring issues such as poverty and sanitation and acting more as fantasy escapism.

Some people have called the clean girl aesthetic racist. Some internet users have pointed out that the preferred cosmetics of the aesthetic are expensive and do not have a diverse range of shades to match darker skin tones. The aesthetic’s use of cosmetics also does not support those with skin conditions like acne or hyperpigmentation. The aesthetic has also been compared to Victorian values of purity and has therefore been the subject of controversy.

Bibliography

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