Many elements of what people consider to be “living slowly” are connected back to pre-technology life, reflecting a collective yearning for offline simplicity. However — like other escapist trends (like cottagecore and coastal grandmother-core) that it has risen in conjunction with — it’s gone from being a helpful lifestyle change to an extremely online aesthetic.
This article really drives home to me how social media is so inauthentic that it can turn even a very personal, intentional, and counter-cultural movement like simple/slow living into an aesthetic, a performative hollow shell of its true meaning. I personally shudder at the idea of setting up a scene in my home for a photo to prove to others how “in the moment” I’m being — that feels inherently like not living in the moment.
I am very glad I do not use TikTok, Instagram, or any other media-focused website.
yeah, I feel the best way to minimize these feelings is blocking out these messages. I was reading a book by Thic Nhat Hanh and he was talking about being mindful of what you consume because how it has impact on your health. If you consume intoxicants and harmful media it would impact you, so try to cultivate better and more nourishing consumption.
I and feel like it’s the same thing with simple living being taken over by social media, is the reality and there’s not much you can do to change the state of things on social media but can cultivate what you are consuming. It’s not the best way to approach this but, it’s just the we are living a zeitgeist that people care more about appearances and stuff rather than practicing a lifestyle.
I wouldn’t think to much about it to be honest.
Yup, the same thing happened around the idea of “self-care” – it became a way to project an aesthetic, ended up being used as a way to sell people more stuff they don’t need, and now is more about “self-comfort” or pampering.
I joined r/minimalism when it was a young but already established subreddit. The message back then was to ensure what you owned brought some sort of value to your life. It was a bit broad and ambiguous for a reason. We are all unique and there is no one size fits all minimalism.
It quickly turned into a strange mix of ideals. Minimalistic aesthetics such as clean edges and blank walls took over. There was also a competition brewing between those could own the least amount of things. Suddenly you could buy happiness with minimalism. Buy that smooth, round edged minimalistic table and fancy multi-purpose item to show how minimalistic you are. I had to unsubscribe because of how soulless it began to feel.
It feels like capitalism and white washing good intentions can really suck the authenticity out of anything and everything.
