How Social Media Aesthetics Define Success

“Aesthetically pleasing” is a commonly used phrase based on what the general population perceives as beautiful or satisfying to look at. Social media’s have not only gained their traction because of how useful their apps are, but also by how they look and function. When looking at all of the major social media apps, which is the primary source user’s use to access their profiles, the color schemes and format of their home pages are basically the same. Not only has this format been replicated in the style of every major social media, but also in their user’s pages. Verified accounts gain their followers due to the repeated themes throughout all of their posts. Travel accounts, make up artists, and public figures maintain their follow count by maintaining a common color scheme. At this moment, the most popular Instagram profiles are those that show a theme made up of bright warm-tones where the overall color is white. This minimalistic visual has been deemed as aesthetically pleasing since its first appearance in Tumblr, the first social that concentrated on pages made up of photos and other pictures that all blended together seamlessly. Since it is apparent that profiles with attractive aesthetics gain an insane amount of popularity, it only makes sense that social media developers would notice this trend and design their apps around those themes. A plain white background, soothing blue icons, and little to no spacing create a social that beautifully contrasts photos and various black fonts making it easy for anyone to create an aesthetically pleasing profile. 

Why Aesthetics Are Important To The Social World

Although social media users are dependent on functionality, they also want to enjoy their experience creatively wise. A digital space that provides a blank canvas that everybody’s diverse taste could work well with is crucial to a social’s development. Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook all provide the basic, blank format that comes alive through their user’s posts. This simple setup is also interchangeable for developers, making it easy for them to update the social without completely disrupting people’s profiles. Even with slight changes, users still do not always approve of updates that slightly change their aesthetic. For example, many socials offer a ‘dark mode’ setting that can change their social media background from white to a calming slate grey. This feature was introduced when some users complained that the bright, white background hurt their eyes, and even though those users enjoy this option many refuse to use it because it will disrupt their aesthetic. The term ‘aesthetically pleasing’ is completely subjective, so it is difficult for socials to please everyone. Functionality may be considered one of the most important aspects of creating a social, but attractiveness may be just as important because appearance is what draws users in. 

 Sierra Joan

@Sierra Swanson

@sierrajoan

@sierrajoan_

@sierrajoan_