If you go to Pinterest and search for any trend or aesthetic, you will see images that aim to reflect the ideal presentation of that aesthetic or trend.

For instance, if you search for “clean girl aesthetic,” you will see green matcha pairead with a Five-Minute Journal and trending makeup and skincare brands, all presented in a visually pleasing way. But if you look deeper than just the surface, you will find that the algorithm is pushing posts that show women who are white, thin, and blond. This is no mistake; as Safiya Umoja Nobles explains in the 2018 book Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, social media algorithms are often trained with historical and cultural biases that lead their platforms to amplify existing stereotypes and beauty standards, resulting in algorithmic oppression. This mechanism is where the algorithm marginalizes women of color, and in turn promotes posts that profit from pushing the dominant culture.

These algorithms are also leading to a homogenized society. The personalized feed provides users with information that reinforces their existing beliefs, trapping them in echo-chambers that hinder diverse perspectives and reduce critical thinking. The lack of varying beliefs and narratives can make individuals more vulnerable to misinformation and confirmation bias. These echo-chambers create a uniform online culture that fosters the loss of individuality.

As social media algorithms increasingly rely on artificial intelligence, platforms will push what’s trending to users, creating a standardized experience. As a result, individuals will succumb to herd mentality, chasing various trends to appeal to what’s perceived as popular. 

Mainstream media is slowly pushing a uniform culture that slowly rids itself of subcultures. Subcultures used to be filled with ideology, identity, a sense of belonging, and resistance to mainstream cultural norms and values. Heavily taking root in the 1960s during a tumultuous period, groups like hippies and biker gangs offered a sense of community for young people and marginalized individuals.

But now, with the rise of social media, aesthetic-driven communities that push consumption are favored, and social connections are lost. All in all, we, as consumers of media, must be critical of what we view and try to include diverse viewpoints rather than those with which we may be comfortable.