The death of originality

Key Takeaways:

• Social media fosters aesthetic “labels” that can reduce identities to superficial trends.
• Personal style once emerged from lived experience; it now risks being shaped by online filters and hashtags.
• Lockdown trends like “cottage-core” led many to adopt escapist aesthetics without deep personal meaning.
• The rise of new “cores” and quick-fix personalities can undermine genuine self-discovery.
• Reconnecting with authentic interests can help us move beyond aesthetic obsession.

The Father’s Legacy

“My dad still has a huge vinyl collection — The Beatles, ABBA, The Carpenters — and shelves full of original Asterix, Obelix and Tintin comics,” recalls the author, underscoring how true passion for a generation’s culture develops organically. He also happens to love old-school diners, complete with fries and ketchup, encapsulating the tastes that formed his identity in a genuine era of the ’90s.

Organic vs. Curated

What once naturally arose from lived experience during formative years is now often curated for visual appeal or social status. As the author explains, trying to adopt a ’90s aesthetic “never felt quite real.” Instead of evolving from shared memories or personal tastes, modern identities risk being pieced together from trend cycles and filtered images, potentially caging our personalities.

The Cottage-Core Escape

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the allure of a “cottage-core aesthetic” proved irresistible for some. With its dreamy visions of pastoral life, this trend offered an escape from restricted, monotonous circumstances. Yet as the author notes, these attempts to “romanticize life” can lead us to embrace surfaces rather than exploring personal depths.

Dark Academia Dreams

Once quarantine ended, another aesthetic called “dark academia” captured attention. For the author, this moody vision of coffee-stained study sessions, dusty libraries and tattered notebooks reflected an academic ambition. It underscored how visuals alone could symbolize deeper drives — in this case, the pursuit of education or scholarly success.

The Social Media Catalyst

Fueling each craze is a swarm of online content: posts featuring carefully curated wardrobes, mood boards steeped in specific lighting, and hashtags that push the latest must-try trend. Terms like fairycore or edgy-this can go viral, generating the illusion that identity pieces can be ordered and assembled, as though “an entire personality from Amazon” might arrive in days.

Losing Authentic Connections

While it is natural to seek meaning in the world, the constant packaging of identity can overshadow real connections. Combining short-lived gratification with template-based reinvention, social media can distance us from the environment and fellow people. The ease of chasing aesthetics may ironically reduce opportunities to explore one’s own interests or nurture deeper bonds.

Seeing the Bigger Picture

“The entire trajectory of this perpetuating algorithm leads us to consider: Without the forceful shaping of our identities into caging molds and without online platforms that enforce them, what remains beneath the surface?” Indeed, we risk forgetting the power of genuine culture, music and literature to enlighten us and keep us connected to one another’s authentic selves.

By revisiting what truly resonates with us outside of social media’s boundaries, we can forge identities that are more meaningful, personal and enduring than any passing digital trend.