“Is dark academia still popular?” This is actually a great question! Maybe you’ve just stumbled your way onto dark academia aesthetic and feel late to the party. Or perhaps you want to keep the vibe going, rather than jumping on a new trend.
If you fall in love with something it’s sad to think that it could fall out of fashion. Of course, you don’t need to change just because society does! But it’s nice to be part of a community that’s thriving and growing rather than an outcast.
So that begs the question:
Is The Dark Academia Aesthetic Still Popular?
I’m happy to report that YES, dark academia is absolutely still popular. While it might seem that the trend has died down, those who are interested in dark academia are here to stay. We could even see it continue to grow!
Now, I’m a huge data nerd (which is probably why I’m drawn to a style that values intellect!) so I thought I should probably back up this claim with real facts.
Check out the chart below to see Google search trends on dark academia.
As you can see, there was a big spike in searches when things started kicking off and then it’s died down a bit. But it’s much higher than when it started!
Of course, this is only one type of data. It’s important to consider that when dark academia first went viral a lot of people were searching it. It wasn’t just because they were interested, they literally had no idea what it was and why people were talking about it.
Other Dark Academia Stats to Show Popularity
Youtube – If you look at the trends for YouTube searches the numbers have fallen even less. That means people are continuing to look for this stuff – it’s just that there’s less mainstream people trying to learn about the aesthetic.
Reddit – R/DarkAcademia has 50k members and there are current posts as of the day I’m writing this.
Tiktok – The #darkacademia tag has 2.1B views and the “top” video at the time of writing this has over 2 million views (video was posted May 8th so it’s 12 days old)
Don’t Let Trends Affect Your Life
Even if dark academia isn’t as trendy or popular as it was, that doesn’t mean you can’t still be a part of this aesthetic. Besides, I think it’s pretty dark academia of you not to worry about what’s popular!
After all, the great scholars and intellectuals of the past were often going against the grain. They arrested Galileo for saying the earth revolved around the sun, after all.
So don’t be afraid to try dark academia activities to make it a part of your life. Do it as much or little as you feel fits.
And, if you find dark academia isn’t for you, you can always try out other aesthetics to see if they’re more your vibe!
