Conformity to Social Media Aesthetics: Capitalism, Induvidualty and Contemporary Literary Perspectives

Abstract

The paper deals with how the ideas of what “aesthetics” originally were and how it differs massively with present day notions of “aesthetic” which is predominantly connected with social media. Initially aesthetics was a rebellious charge against rigid and conventional norms of the society but what is available today is a set of pre-regulated rules on how to attain a particular aesthetic. Which was initially a means of self-expression, has become a subculture that has been commodified. Capitalism has been a driving force to these commodified online personas. However, this aesthetics promote a lack of individuality and art in the form of these social media posts is heavily mediated. What started in Tumblr as a means to express unique selves has turned to into cottagecore, Y2k aesthetics, etc which is limiting. Theories and concepts that were used to compare and contrast are Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation, Rosseau’s Amore-Propre, Kant’s Judgement of Taste from Critique of Judgement and Cultural Materialism by Raymond Williams. These philosophical ideas give a further understanding of the major impacts of something so superficial like social media posts on Instagram, TikTok, etc. The paper also deals with how the contemporary subcultures are manifested in the form aesthetics on social media. Literary works that reflect this- No one is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood, Poet Dane’s Social Media Madness; Mirror, Mirror on the Screen by Camille Fairbanks have also been discussed with excerpts. It is concluded on how users online should embrace authenticity than fitting into something that was not made for them.