ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the major aesthetic forms that are associated with self-harm and evaluates how this relationship has formed and what its impact is on the online world. It presents a guide to some of the important ways that people are expressing themselves and their pain including self-harm and disordered eating in online. ‘Dark’ aesthetics are notably common on social networking sites that deal with themes such as suicidal ideation, self-harm, and eating disorders. The Tumblr Teen Girl Aesthetic is a subset of broader contemporary online aesthetic trends. It is heavily influenced by what has been dubbed the New Aesthetic. If a person is too deeply enmeshed in a more limited and intensive virtual mode – such as the Sad Aesthetic or some subgroups of Soft Grunge – they may find themselves inside a less constructive echo chamber of depression.
