Have you heard the term “aesthetics” used on social media and wondered what it meant?
Don’t worry.
This post will explain exactly what it means. Though, it is necessary to give some context and explain what it means within two different contexts.
What does aesthetic mean
Before we get into the definition, you must consider the context.
There are two eras to consider: the pre-modern era and modern era.
Pre-modern aesthetics
The pre-modern era is the time period before the modern digital age of high-speed internet, social media, etc.
For the pre-modern era or in classical context, aesthetics (or esthetics) is the philosophical study that examines beauty found in art.1https://iep.utm.edu/aestheti/
Modern aesthetics
In contrast, the modern era begins with the popularization of social media and adoption of high-speed internet. This would therefore include the present day as well.
When you see Gen Z, Zillennials, and Millennials like myself use the term, we are overwhelming talking about it in the modern context. So if you’ve been wondering what aesthetic means, the following definition is what you’re likely looking for:
Aesthetics in its modern usage are visual, artistic, or lifestyle elements, popularized on a digital community or social media, that reflect a specific expression, mood, identity, or sense of community.
Other names include: lifestyle aesthetics and internet aesthetics.
They overwhelmingly originate from video games or other established visual media and fantasy, internet communities, historical eras, stereotypes, or simply the mind of a creative individual.
Most of the time, aesthetic visuals and culture reflect a sense of nostalgia, beauty, melancholy, wistfulness, harmony, intrigue, surrealism, pondering, or a combination of two or more of these elements.
One other thing! When people online call something “aesthetic” they are saying that the visual, mood, person, or object is reflecting one or more of these elements.
Ok! I hope that clears things up for you.
So, let’s talk about the different types of aesthetics and their categories.
Four main types of modern aesthetics:
Core aesthetics. Most aesthetics will fall under this category. The core aesthetic represents the essential qualities of a specific concept or lifestyle and its corresponding mood(s).
You can identify them by the -core suffix at the end. Popular examples of cores include, cottagecore, mushroomcore, angelcore, etc.
Academia. This aesthetic centers around the themes and lifestyle of school, university, or academic settings including learning and studying. Many academias utilize Greco-Roman classical elements and prestigious visuals as well.
Popular academias include: light academia, pastel academia, and dark academia.
Wave aesthetics. These are identified by their bright or neon colors. Additionally, wave aesthetics center on nostalgic pop culture, tech culture, and consumer culture themes from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Most are music-based but this is not required.
You can identify them by the -wave suffix. Popular examples of waves include: vaporwave, chillwave, and milleniwave.
Subculture aesthetics. To get these, you focus primarily on the visuals of a subculture and make new derivatives of them. An example of this, is the punk aesthetic, which is heavily influenced by fictional dystopia and punk subculture.
You can identify this aesthetic by the -punk suffix. Popular examples of punks include: steampunk, solarpunk, and cyberpunk. Other subculture aesthetics examples are: goth aesthetic, preppy aesthetic, and emo aesthetic.
Aesthetics categories include:
Categories are the themes, motifs, and moods or vibes associated with a particular aesthetic type. Some aesthetics can fit in more than one category, but they usually have a dominant category.
Here are the most popular categories of aesthetics:
Weird. These aesthetics center around surreal, confusing, random, or creepy visuals. Examples include: weirdcore, liminal space, strangecore, dreamcore etc.
Classy. Most aesthetics in this category focus on well-fitting and high fashion, neutral colors, and being put-together. Examples include: old money aesthetic, light academia, and dark academia.
Nature. As the name suggests, any nature aesthetic will have themes and motifs typically associated with nature and nature-oriented lifestyles. This could include, plants, large bodies of water, animals, and the atmosphere Examples include: cottagecore, naturecore, green academia, etc.
Cute. Simply put, these relate to looking, feeling, and being cute. Examples include: Happycore, fairycore, lovecore, and pastel academia.
Color. Whenever color or color combinations are the primary feature, this is when you get a color aesthetic. Often times, the themes of the specific color(s) also influence the aesthetic.
For example, blue is typically associated with “calmness.” So, blue aesthetics would therefore have a calm mood to them. Color aesthetics can also overlap with other categories, however.
Examples include: purple aesthetic, blue aesthetic, pastel aesthetic, and rose gold aesthetic. Overlap examples include: pastel goth, pastel academia, blue cottagecore, etc.
Fantasy. These aesthetics derive from established fiction such as stories, games, legends, folklore, etc. Examples include: goblincore, wizardcore and dragoncore.
Nostalgia. The focus elements for these are nostalgia and wistfulness for one’s childhood, pop culture, or lifestyle stereotypes. Sublime, echo, and surreal effects are also present. Examples include: vaporwave, cartooncore, and nostalgiacore.
Funny. Sometimes categorized as “meme” or “joke” aesthetics, these are humorous and usually lighthearted and ironic. Examples include: continental breakfast core, and old meme core.
Edgy. These focus on the visuals that come with being, cool, dark, or rebellious. Examples include: emo, devilcore, and grunge.
Ethereal. This aesthetics focus on “warm and fuzzy feelings,” elegant, otherworldly, and dreamy vibes. Common examples are: royalcore, angelcore, and warmcore.
Paranormal. Any aesthetic that predominately focuses on themes such as, aliens, cryptozoology, mystery, outer space, magic, and ghosts fall under paranormal. Examples include: aliencore, spacecore, cryptidcore, and desertwave.
Tech. Any aesthetic that is closely related to technology, websites, and gadgets fall into this category. Examples include: Y2K and Technocore.
Aesthetics Directory
Here at Vowlenu, we will focus mostly on the visual-lifestyle and literary sides of aesthetics culture. This will include the following sections:
- Aesthetic wallpapers
- Aesthetic words
- Comprehensive types of aesthetics list.
- Color Aesthetics
- Aesthetic names
- Stories
- Aesthetic quotes
Any questions, feedback, or interest in contributing? Feel free to leave a comment below or contact us!