While seemingly open-ended and allowing for an infinite recombination of elements, the idea of “vibes” is reductive. It discourages the more difficult work of interpretation and the search for meaning that defines human experience. It diverts attention away from narrative and moral implications in favor of foregrounding the idea of affect as... See more

This only works if you truly know yourself. All this “vibe externalization” assumes you’ve put in the existential legwork of interrogating your preferences, separating signal from noise, distinguishing between the shoes you love and the shoes Instagram loves for you. It presumes you have a coherent vibe to transmit, not just a Pinterest board in... See more