Instagram Feeds: Aesthetically Pleasing or Overly Edited?

What is considered to be ‘too edited’?
​By Jewel Dayoan

Oh, Instagram. The virtual world of photos, videos, stories, and your occasional follow-for-follow users. Instagram has become the outlet we use to show people we truly do have lives, and not just sit in our rooms all day. It’s the scrapbook of our lives without the scraps or the book. But sometimes we, as users, can get a little too contrived in presenting how we want to be seen on Instagram. A lot of users aim to be “aesthetically pleasing.” But is there a certain line that can be crossed by being too aesthetic and not authentic enough? 

Remember when “like-for-like” was a trend for a time? Where users would spam each other with likes on each photo just to raise the number of likes people would see when they came across it? People nowadays still love a good “like” count. But now, a lot of people have shifted their focus from the numbers to how aesthetically pleasing their feed can be. From a minimalistic-type feed, to a neon-centric layout, many people tend to differ in what they consider to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 

Take fashion blogger and YouTuber, Weylie Hoang, for example. Her inner passion for being one with nature reflects in her Instagram feed as an autumn, rustic aesthetic. ​

Cal State Long Beach’s own Dig Mag also follows through with an eye-catching feed, while sticking to the trends their audiences can relate to the most. 

“This year, we don’t necessarily have a fixed color palette,” Niyah Maldonado, social media editor of Dig Mag, said. “What we do is take a look at previous posts, see the colors that are being used, and then we try to curate a post that has an accent of that previous color. This helps create consistency.” 

As a magazine, Dig Mag catches the most attention through social media, making it super-important to have a feed that encompasses their identity as a brand. 

“First impressions are everything, so having a feed that flows, whether it’s in layout or colors, gives your brand an added advantage,” Maldonado said. 

The key for smart companies is to balance an aesthetically pleasing feed that represents your brand with authentic content that doesn’t look too contrived. Afterall, social media is all about connecting with others in fun, social and authentic ways!
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What do you think crosses the line of being too aesthetic, and not so much pleasing? Tell us in the comments.