Generation Z and their love for aesthetic boards
Through aesthetic boards like witch, grunge and love, Gen Z is finding their identity
Generation Z is often referred to as one of the most unique, values-driven generations. They see identity as fluid and care about social impact, with 56% considering themselves socially conscious1. They have a strong desire for individuality we haven't seen before, perhaps because they were pretty much born with smartphone in-hand and unparalleled access to information.
"On Pinterest, Gen Z’s journey to discover their identity and passions is ever-present, as they open-mindedly save ideas to boards and find more along the way," said Enid Hwang, Community Marketing Manager, Pinterest. "We find that one of the largest channels for this journey is through aesthetic boards, which are collections of Pins that represent a lifestyle or interest." Gen Z is creating aesthetic boards across topics like witch, grunge and love. There are over 37 million aesthetic related boards on the platform2, with Gen Z’ers searching for “aesthetic” 447% more than Millennials3.
As Gen Z curates these boards to find their inner selves, they provide a unique look into emerging subcultures and passions. Read on to find out what aesthetics are trending upwards amongst Gen Z4 and how much more they are saving Pins to these boards than Millennials5.
Amongst Generation Z, interest in aesthetics has been rising significantly since January 2017.
They are also way more into aesthetic boards than Millennials.
Witch Aesthetic
With the continual rise of feminism and the importance of self-care comes the resurgence of the witch subculture. These Pins represent witches as powerful women, alongside explorations in magic to improve confidence, tarots for spiritual guidance, candles to rid the air of negativity, and the continual practice of self-love -- all that belongs to the lifestyle of witchcraft, which celebrates individualism.
Grunge Aesthetic
The Seattle-based pop culture movement that started in the 80s and exploded in the 90s is very popular amongst Gen Z, probably because it is all about anti-conformity and resisting materialism. It started with young people who tried to change their community for the better, and Gen Z may be following suit. Gen Z Pinners are creating boards on thrift-store clothing, rock music, and a rebellious attitude.
Love Aesthetic
This aesthetic that celebrates all things love between everyone and anybody is particularly popular amongst the open-minded Gen Z, who are strong believers in fluidity in identity. This aesthetic is used to express peace, pride and acceptance in your sexual orientation. In the description of these boards, we often see “GxG” or “BxB” which mean “girl meets girl” or “boy meets boy”. Other popular aesthetics that Gen Z is creating much more than millennials are bisexual aesthetic, gay aesthetic, and lesbian aesthetic.
Art Aesthetic
This aesthetic is popular amongst Gen Z due to their love of art and self expression. This is a lifestyle that includes boyfriend jeans, pixie haircuts, anime, and painting different body parts. Drawing, photography, anime and small tattoos are some examples of terms they are searching for more than millennials.
Writing Aesthetic
Gen Z wants to have a voice, and with their fluency in digital media, writing is a powerful medium. A Pinterest board on the writing aesthetic will give you insight into the writer’s lifestyle, such as coffee shops, daydreams, fan fiction or creativity. Many of these boards also include tips on writing, such as character development or common mistakes to avoid. Gen Z’ers are even searching for terms like character design and writing prompts much more than millennials are.
Notes
¹https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/319171/unique-and-powerf…
²Boards with aesthetic related pins included, global, all time
3Increase is in normalized searches on “aesthetic” for each generation, timespan of January ‘18 to September ‘18, Pinterest global search data
4Increases are in normalized searches for each aesthetic listed amongst Gen Z from January ’17 to September ‘18, Pinterest global search data
5Multiplicative factor (e.g. “5.5X”) is in normalized searches for each aesthetic listed for each generation, global data, timespan of January ‘18 to September ‘18