One of the most popularised words in the modern day, often used on social media is ‘aesthetic’. It’s a word that is slightly bothersome to me, I roll my eyes every time I hear it. We live in a world where a lot of people live a life with two identities, an identity in the digital world and an identity in the real world. In the digital world, the term aesthetic has become well liked by social media users, and it is often seen as the first step to constructing your identity in the digital space. Aesthetics are talked about most often in fashion spaces, but also, music, house decor, holidays and dining. In fact, almost every aspect of life can have an aesthetic according to the prominent influencers in the digital space, and by discovering and delving into your aesthetic, you are now well on your way to building your digital identity. However, what we often find, is that these ‘aesthetics’ are simply costumes put on by individuals, in order to give off a certain sort of message about themselves. Whether those messages are true or not, is something only the individual wearing the costume will know.
This reference to term ‘costume’ was described by, Canadian-American sociologist, Erving Goffman, as a ‘performance’. Goffman argues that we humans put on performative masks many times over the course of our lifetimes. He believes that certain circumstances bring out different performances from all of us. The part of his theory that becomes controversial is when he argues that we humans have no ‘true-self’, there is state where we humans can be unapologetically ourselves, that there will always be a time when we are performing to some degree. Erving Goffman’s theory most definitely stands the test of time, and the theory has become more accurate with the introduction and expansion of social media. In this day and age there not only are we subconsciously performing and wearing masks, there is a desperation to perform in a certain way, and now more than ever we make certain decisions and choose to do certain actions in order to appease a certain individual or group. The ability to find and buy into an aesthetic is the most popular and successful way to appease the individuals or groups.
The problem with trying to find and buy into an aesthetic is that there are far too many of them, not only that but they are constantly changing and evolving. By the time you have managed to fully indulge yourself into a specific aesthetic, the digital world would have already moved on without you. This can often leave people feeling lost and deserted, not knowing what their identity really is, constantly whirling around different aesthetic spaces to try and fit in with certain groups. I feel that this has a serious negative effect on people, at least in the past there weren’t as many costumes/performances that people had to put on. Fast forward to the present day, it’s safe to say that there are for too many costumes and performances to count.
References
YouTube Channel discussing different aesthetics in fashion – https://youtu.be/xkHT4sk6ZVE?feature=shared
Erving Goffman image – https://images.app.goo.gl/fyCxqbzRc1xNRWhj9
