This is a weird idea that relates to internet aesthetics (IYKYK) and subcultures (yes, these). [If you need to excuse yourself now, I get it.]

Let’s get some definitions down upfront - and a big idea quote from DAZED’s latest report on youth culture, uttered by Ari Versluis, Co-Founder of Exactitudes.

“The internet has completely fragmented the landscape in which subcultures exist, creating an immense number of disposable trends and an almost paralysing amount of information. In the era of the immersive internet, youth identities are now fluid and dynamic. This has resulted in a more expanded definition of subcultures.” -DAZED Youth Subcultures Report

Now, what the heck am I talking about.

I’ve been an explorer of the internet for most of my life - but things really ramped up around 8th grade, when I got an iPhone (the world wide web…in my palm!?). It was then that I started staying up late into the night, prompting StumblUpon to show me things. Art, Wiki pages, history, weird news, poetry, new music/artists, you name it.

Between this and other similar habits, I slowly grew to understand mysterious, intangible internet things - like the idea: “that’s so aesthetic”. Alongside my jock-ier side playing competitive volleyball for much of my life, there was an eccentric, Nylon Magazine obsessed, editorial writer wannabe. I had magazine clippings and sketches and 60s-era posters (like Jimi Hendrix’s Axis of Love) strategically taped and sticky-tacked to my ceiling. It’s no wonder that my personality + Tumblr and Pinterest soon acclimated me to the likes of ~aesthetics~ lol.

So what the heck is it? I recently went down a rabbit hole of truly defining + understanding what ‘aesthetics’ (specifically, internet aesthetics) are, and how they seem to be reborn via the growing subcultures inspired by what were once mere digital aesthetics / trends.

INTERNET AESTHETICS

Let’s start here - the aesthetics fandom wiki (…bear with me). According to what I consider an ultimate source for this information:

“The word “aesthetic” originated as the philosophical discussion about what beauty is, how we should approach it, and why it exists. Later, the academic field of art history used aesthetic to refer to a set of principles motivating artists and certain periods of art history. However, Millennials and Generation Z started using that term as an adjective that describes what they personally consider beautiful. For example: “After Denise finished watching The Virgin Suicides, she said, ‘Wow. That was so aesthetic.’”

Aesthetics have now come to mean a collection of images, colors, objects, music, and writings that creates a specific emotion, purpose, and community. All aesthetics have a background and history that has a variety of origins. For example, different historical periods, fictional genres, subcultures, music genres, and national cultures can be considered aesthetics. For explanations of different types of aesthetics, see the By Category section. There is currently no dictionary definition that captures the complexity of this phenomenon, which arose in the Internet youth.”

Now, we see them appear as things like barbiecore, cottagecore, more here.

With all of that, it’s curious to consider the content trends of today - often thematic…

Even consider how Renaissance and Eras tours took shape as something more digital, modern, diverse, and intense than the manifestation of traditional fandom; Perhaps that’s just it - these trends manifest from moments, movies, nostalgia, concert tours, and more. We escape so much further through our hobbies and interests than ever before; It’s not just coming across a style you like - it’s finding it, looking for more clues of it, embracing it, lifestyle… 

“Is the internet a subculture?”, a young man in the US asked in the survey. “The boundaries of subcultures are so nebulous these days,” said another.”

SUBCULTURES

A few key points from the DAZED Youth Subcultures report:

• 88 per cent of youth believe that subcultures exist today and the majority of youth believe subcultures are influential to them in their lives.
• “The internet has completely fragmented the landscape in which subcultures exist, creating an immense number of disposable trends and an almost paralysing amount of information. In the era of the immersive internet, youth identities are now fluid and dynamic. This has resulted in a more expanded definition of subcultures.”
• “So much of subculture to youth now is nostalgia. A yearning for the past and previous subcultures” –Ari Versluis

Now, moving on to subcultures and their evolution with the rise of things like social media and digital connection with friends.

Over time, they’ve always shifted and evolved - new iterations and means of expressing similarly niche groups.

But now - there’s a new evolution at play; We’re seeing the result of internet aesthetics and youth subculture clashing and colliding where internet aesethics and youth subculture have collided and are now finally seeing a reaction.

The output?

I feel there’s a capitalist-driven evolution of subcultures that’s happened, largely driven by algorithms creating entire realms for single subculture elements vs. the entire culture.

, away from artsy expressionist identification and into self-labeling, algorithm-driven approaches to self expression.

“The term “subculture” usually designates relatively transient groups studied apart from their families and domestic or private settings, with an emphasis instead on voluntary, informal, and organic affiliations formed either in the unregulated public space of the street, or conversely within and against the disciplinary structure of enforced institutionalization.

Subcultures are generally groups that are perceived to deviate from the normative standards of the dominant culture, as this is variously defined according to age, sexuality, and taste in economic, racial, and gendered terms. Subcultures are often positioned socially and analytically as disenfranchised, subordinate, subaltern, or subterranean. Subcultures, and academics who study them, often distinguish themselves as being oppositional, alternative, and countercultural, as being defined against others, i.e., “squares” or “the mainstream.” They also differentiate within themselves and in so doing create hierarchies of participation, knowledge, and taste.”

NEW AVENUES OF SELF EXPRESSION, LIKE……

• Sites for blogs/blog-like digital presences; Digital content creation tools
  
• Local art collectives and calls, hosted by other creatives
  
• TONS of market vendor communities cropping up, like SA Local Market
  
• Collaborations between artists and creators connecting online
  

Interesting related resources:

• The ‘official’ Aesthetics Fandom Wiki
• The book, ‘Cool: Style, Sound, and Subversion’ (a book one of my fav managers shared with me! **cough** Alex King )
• The book, ‘Subculture Vulture: A Memoir in Six Scenes’

Have thoughts on this, or comments on your own connections to subcultures? Reach out!