In Tumblr’s 2021 Year in Review, dark academia was the second-most popular aesthetic on the site, and light academia was ... like all the images of formal clothing and old buildings." ...

Brennan drew similarities between the light-academia aesthetic and cottagecore, which is also rooted in small pleasures — though not exclusively deriving from education. As such, light academia ...

Her work has explored the rise of TikTok, internet aesthetics, and the pursuit ... (meadowcore but with mushrooms and magic), and Light Academia (Dark Academia, but girlier and in the summer).