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.
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.
I had exactly the same experience with /r/minimalism. Thankfully I found /r/simpleliving through it, but I quickly unsubscribed from /r/minimalism. The repetitive posts about expensive watches and wallets, people trying to get to the arbitrary number of 100 items for no logical reason, and people chastising others for having a bed was just ridiculous.