Breaking news: The Oxford dictionary added ‘goblin mode ‘ as the word of the year 2022.
The use of the word ‘goblin mode’ started around the year 2009 but it actually caught up more in the pandemic and post-pandemic years. Used as slang to fill in the gap for a word to embrace your natural instincts, this word caught up quickly in the post-pandemic years when people started bothering less and less about the world around them and focusing on themselves. This goblin mode trend went viral in 2022 when people were not willing to go back to the pre-pandemic normals.
Meaning Of Goblin Mode by Oxford Dictionary:
The exact meaning of the term as given by the oxford dictionary is “a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.”
In Simpler terms :
It is slang used for behavior that breaks or ignores societal norms and focuses on self-indulgence. It provides the term for a lifestyle where one can get in touch with their basic instincts and act on them without thinking about what impact or impressions it creates on society or the people around them. It is being absolutely reckless and losing yourself. It can be termed as the opposite of working on self-improvement.
In other terms, you can also say goblin mode is giving in to your ID and ignoring what your super-ego tries to convey.
Goblin Mode Examples:
- Quiet-quitting; which is doing no work or less work while you are still at work
- Binge-watching TV/ Series/ Reels or Shorts without taking into consideration the time lost or the impact it has on people around you.
- Sitting in your pajamas or undies all day taking work-from-home opportunities every now and then.
- Binge-eating and not caring about the fallen breadcrumbs on the bed.
- Drinking and using other addictive substances
- Not taking any responsibility or accountability.
- Feeding on other people’s energy. (If you feel its happening to you- Read: How to Identify Energy Vampires)
Why are more and more people going into Goblin Mode?
It has not been easy for all of us to go through the previous few years. The pandemic and post-pandemic years have been challenging physically, mentally, and emotionally. It has not been easy to cope with the losses we have faced and also the changes we had to deal with in this period. From an outgoing active lifestyle to being locked down and isolated, this change has been terrible for a lot of people. It has also resulted in a hidden depression epidemic. Many have lost their jobs, many have lost their loved ones and many have lost their purpose in life.
Goblin mode actually acts as a quick fix to all these. Not caring about anything and doing what your basic instinct says is instant gratification for yourself to make you feel good or at least stop yourself from feeling bad about something that is not going your way. It consists of majorly unhealthy coping mechanisms for adverse situations in life.
So instead of working on healthy coping mechanisms that have a long-term effect, you choose the unhealthy coping mechanisms for instant gratification.
Adverse Effects of Goblin Mode
It may make you feel good for some time but this can be extremely harmful to you in the long term. Here are the bad effects of goblin mode that can leave a long-term negative impact on your life.
- You lose touch with the reality
- You waste a lot of your time on things that have no impact on your future, or worse, they negatively impact your future.
- You create relationship loneliness for yourself and your partner.
- You get addicted to harmful substances.
- After a certain time, you start feeling empty, deprived, and depressed.
- It can cause physical and mental health problems.
- Giving into your impulses reduces your energy levels and hampers your dedication towards working on your life goals.
- It negatively impacts your self-control and inner strength.
- If you are in constant goblin mode it is also a sign of depression.
While this term is graciously accepted by the oxford dictionary, we hope goblins would not be offended for being stereotyped and elves, dwarves, pixies, and many more won’t start fighting for their share in the pages. And I sincerely hope that graciously accepting a term will not result in accepting this lifestyle too. Self-care is not bad but being able to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy practices is what makes or breaks your life.