The human identity is an assembly of specifically personal passions that merge into a unique whole. Navigating our world of manifold curiosities, we are able to collect the pieces that spark passion and honesty, molding our selves into unique and enriched persons. These patchworks of self-identity create three-dimensional lives filled with essential variety. It is often the incongruencies within identity, the pairings of interests that do not intuitively go hand-in-hand, that give form to the questions and experiences that make the quotidian remarkable. The physicist who enjoys botany in his leisure, the lawyer who frequents Impressionist aesthetic galleries, the painter with a fascination in psychology — the disjoint makes the marvelous.
Historically unprecedented, the age of the Internet has created pathways of international communication previously unforged, but these advancements are coupled with a troubling change in attitude towards individualism. Certain admirable identities are polished, advertised and posted for an eager audience. The purveyors of these lifestyles create something so harmonious as to be irresistible and forgo the intricacies of internal contradiction that transform the pretty into the indescribable. This is a beauty whose contradictions crash together into a discord that is somehow louder and more splendid than the practiced symphony, cacophonous and novel alike.
On the ever-growing TikTok, a handful of hashtags remain perpetually dominant within the category of lifestyle content. A whimsical, simple countryside life, with its beautification of baking, sewing and gardening, #cottagecore has garnered massive attention with 15.1 billion views. The videos paint the cottage dwelling as bliss, but consistently provide no opening for the incorporation of other interests. Surrounded by lush leas and herbal tea, a fascination with football or rock ‘n’ roll feels out of place. Thus we are faced with the promise of happiness within the rigid confines of what another person judges ideal — existing on someone else’s terms, in accordance with someone else’s dreams. Gingham tablecloths and flower vases make no room for the natural emergence of nonadjacent facets of life.
Characterized by tweed jackets to assume the look of a student from the 1900s, the dark academia aesthetic focuses on the glamor of Gothic architecture, classic literature and higher education. Videos that promote dark academia draw significant inspiration from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, almost always presented through a sepia-toned filter that deepens colors and enhances shadow. The appearance of intellectualism and curiosity stand at its core, spearheading this desire to seem competent, to pretend acumen, within a literary or otherwise humanities-centric field of study. More emphasis is placed on looking the part of the protégé than putting in the work to become educated. With 4.9 billion views on TikTok, #darkacademia presents to viewers an immensely limiting life. It is fragile in that any deviation from the standard threatens the entire infrastructure of the system — a poster of Warhol’s Monroe, with its experimental neons, is enough to ruin the cohesiveness of an entire “dark academia” library. Dedicated adherence to the aesthetic limits the possibilities for intellectual, artistic and otherwise creative exploration, for the sake of pretty order.
Many people have sought fulfillment in a return to retro ‘80s fashion, decor and music, in a recent movement driven largely by nostalgia and boredom with pastelles. Bursting with noise and unadulterated boldness, a great many people find ‘80s culture to be a refreshing departure from the mundane modernity of the 2020s. The loud colors of clothing and the popularity of rock ‘n’ roll lent themselves equally to a vibrancy that has since been unmatched. Cult classics like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “The Princess Bride” are venerated for their seamless pairings of hilarity and heart. In the same breath, it is possible to recognize that living based on a different decade’s terms is not an easy feat, nor is it sustainable without moderation. To dedicate oneself to such an anachronistic life is to separate from reality. Additionally, it is with an uncritical eye that many people embrace reminiscence of bygone times without realizing that these times were populated by real, ever-relevant struggles. The AIDS epidemic, the Cold War and pervasive drug abuse were concerns that modern-day aesthetes overlook. It is not the superficial beauty that should be sought, and yet this is what continues, time and trend again, on TikTok.
TikTok has played a massive role in flattening personal identity into something widely palatable, because the internet is so ubiquitous that it loses the ability to practice dialectics. Unmoored in the algorithms are the minutiae of personality that stand at odds with these effete lifestyles. Everything that challenges their strict uniformity falls to the wayside in favor of broad generalizations. The ability to hold at once the genuine joy of the advertised Internet lives and the knowledge that each such life cannot be adhered to precisely is invaluable. Even the most cynical scroller can admit that these ways of life appear fulfilling — there is happiness to be found in the cottagecore love for nature, the dark academia pursuit of knowledge and the unabashed nostalgia of the ‘80s nostalgia.
In the lifelong search for meaning and identity, it is no heinous crime to subscribe to an aesthetic that millions of people enjoy and find similar meaning in. However, balance is non-negotiable: there must be space for personal idiosyncrasies to be realized to the fullest degree. Stifling certain aspects of the self in the endeavor to create a pristine and organized routine is only ever a mistake, because personalities become fuller and more honest when they are impossible to replicate. Truth and authenticity take precedence over conformity at the end of every day. Let us find the disjoint that makes the marvelous.
