Why Are We Romanticising Everything Again?

A few years ago, the internet — and Instagram in particular — felt obsessed with perfection.
Everything was neutral-toned, hyper-organised, and aggressively polished. TikToks of people’s morning routines went viral even though they started at 5 am (could never be me). Insta feeds became grids of slick-backs, iced coffees, and expensive skincare that genuinely looked like it had never been used.

It felt like everyone was living these hyper-optimised lives, aesthetics included. Everything felt almost… performative? That’s not to say that people didn’t actually lead these lives, but it felt more like they were living them to try and impress other people, rather than being authentically what they wanted to do.

Now? Things feel a little different. Kind of.
People are talking about living “slow lives” and decorating their bags with tiny charms and ribbons. They’re buying digital cameras that take (objectively) low-quality photos on purpose. Their Instagram stories become collections of candid shots with medium-niche artists playing over shots of their friends, their food, and their life.

Even fashion feels less controlled. Outfits are more layered, more personality-driven. Vintage handbags are back. Indie sleaze references are everywhere again. People are starting to curate their own personal style instead of following the common trends.
Somewhere along the line, people stopped wanting to look perfect all the time and started to look interesting instead.

The Capitalisation of “Whimsy”

One of the biggest shifts online right now is the return of “whimsy”. Frilly socks, home-made charm necklaces, random little objects that serve absolutely no practical purpose other than making life feel slightly cuter (or whimsical, if you will).

Minimalism suddenly feels a bit tired. After years of being told to declutter, simplify and optimise, people seem drawn towards things that feel expressive and playful again.
Of course, it makes sense. Productivity content has been absolutely dominating our feeds for years. Every hobby became a side hustle, and every single thing you did in your bedtime routine needed to improve your life in some sort of measurable way. Even skincare felt competitive.

It makes sense, then, that people are embracing hobbies for the atmosphere of them. Pottery classes. Scrapbooking. Baking cakes for no reason. Making jewellery. Collecting homeware. A lot of modern hobbies now seem connected to creating a lifestyle that feels cinematic.

Are People Choosing Hobbies Based on Vibes?

Probably. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Social media has made hobbies incredibly aesthetics-based.
Running isn’t just running anymore — it’s matching activewear sets, curated playlists, running clubs, and posting your stats online. Reading has a whole side of TikTok dedicated to it (BookTok). Even astrology has a set of preconceived aesthetics with it.

Things like journaling or film photography seem to come with a fully formed identity attached to them online. Sometimes it genuinely feels like people discover hobbies through Pinterest boards before they discover actual passion for them. Vibe first, hobby later.

I’m writing this like it’s a new thing when it’s not really; humans have always done versions of this. Fashion, music, hobbies, and interests have always been tied to identity and self-expression. The internet has just accelerated it and made it much more visually-led.
Honestly, there’s something quite hopeful about people wanting to romanticise their lives a little again.

“Main Character Energy” Took Over For a Reason

The rise of “main character energy” online sounds absolutely ridiculous when you say it out loud, but it reflects something pretty understandable.
People are overwhelmed. We spend huge amounts of time online, constantly consuming other people’s lives, opinions, routines, and aesthetics. Most daily routines are repetitive. Work feels increasingly digital. Everything feels like it moves quickly — all the time.

So people create tiny moments that feel cinematic instead. Music plays an absolutely huge role in that. Playlists have become deeply tied to identity online. There’s a playlist for every version of yourself now — gym playlists, heartbreak playlists, “villain” playlists, getting-ready playlists, a playlist for pretending that your commute to work has emotional depth.

According to Popdust’s article on aesthetic playlists, playlists have increasingly become part of how people perform mood, identity, and atmosphere online. How you’re listening to them is a big part of the experience, too. Are you a Beats girl? Are you an AirPods girl? Are you a wired earphone girl? The avenue of listening becomes part of the performance. Listening to music while walking through a city at night can genuinely change how that moment feels. The right soundtrack can make even a boring journey home feel slightly cinematic.
It’s small-scale escapism, but people clearly crave it.

Why Everyone Wants “Authentic” Photos Again

One of the clearest signs that people are moving away from hyper-polished aesthetics is the return of old digital cameras.
Not expensive professional cameras either; tiny late-00s digital cameras with grainy flash photography and questionable image quality.
Scroll on TikTok for a little bit, and you’re bound to find someone promoting the item from the TikTok shop, or just someone showing off the photos they took on it.

Objectively, modern phone cameras are better in almost every way. But that’s why people are rejecting them. According to WIRED’s piece on vintage digicams, younger people are increasingly drawn to imperfect photos because they feel more emotional and less curated than heavily edited smartphone pics.
There’s nostalgia tied into it, too. Those blurry flash photos remind people of old Facebook albums, nights out before everything became content, and childhood memories captured before social media became hyper-curated.

The same thing is happening in fashion and photography more broadly. Still’s article on raw photography trends explores how flash-heavy, candid-looking imagery is replacing perfectly polished aesthetics across social media and fashion campaigns.

There’s an interesting contradiction in all of this, though.
Even “anti-polish” has become curated now. People still carefully select which blurry photos to post. Messiness still follows visual trends, and the candid aesthetic is often incredibly intentional — and still feels performative.

That’s why so much of this current moment feels connected to indie sleaze culture from the late 2000s and early 2010s. That era also romanticised chaos, nightlife, disposable cameras, and looking slightly dishevelled. Both periods have been shaped by economic uncertainty and recession-era anxiety, which probably explains why people gravitate towards escapism, nostalgia, and aesthetics that make everyday life feel more exciting or emotionally rich. The modern version feels softer and more self-aware, but the similarities are obvious.

Maybe People Just Want Personality Back

After years of online culture encouraging everyone towards the same polished aesthetic, it feels like people are craving individuality again. Not necessarily authenticity — because social media will probably always involve some level of performance — but at least the feeling of personality.
People want things that feel human. Slightly imperfect. A little weird. A bit nostalgic. That’s why curated playlists, digital camera photos, aesthetic hobbies, hand-picked Instagram photo dumps, and expressive personal style all feel very connected right now.

They’re all part of a wider shift away from looking flawless and towards looking like an actual person with interests, moods, and quirks (even if those quirks end up on a Pinterest board eventually).
Honestly? I’m okay with that.

XOXO

Avery @ Garilla