Here’s the Internet’s Latest Trend, “Goblin Mode”

*Cackles from bedroom lair*

What’s all this talk about goblins? As in, Willem Dafoe’s portrayal of Spider-Man’s archenemy? Or the mischievous villains in those Rainbow Magic books from the school library?

Neither, it seems.

When you see people talking about “going goblin mode” in TikTok comments, they’re referring to the phenomenon of embracing messiness, spending the day in bed, scrolling through social media, eating junk food, and rarely leaving the house.

And crucially, not feeling bad about it.

In the innocent days of early pandemic lockdowns, there was an uptick in aesthetics like “cottage core” and the more current “that girl” lifestyle. Everyone wanted to be clean, put together and self-care-centric.

Now, Google Trends indicate “goblin mode” has been on the rise since February—and it’s hard to find it coincidental. With everyone well and truly over the lethargy of lockdowns and anxiety of doom-and-gloom news cycles, is it any wonder people are reverting to goblin-like behaviour?

The term sky-rocketed after someone doctored a news article about Julia Fox, making her appear to say Kanye West “didn't like when I went goblin mode.” And being the it girl of the moment, it spread like wildfire.

Credit: Twitter

Scrolling through the hashtag on TikTok, there’s proudly make-up-less women, people in sweatpants, and a denunciation of ‘that girl’ culture, which sets an unrealistic standard for girls in particular.

If you haven't already, you're likely to be bombarded with this term in coming weeks, and you could take it as an excuse to take a break from hustling and spend the day in bed. But with some critics warning that “goblin mode” behavior can include symptoms of depression, be sure to reflect on why you might be feeling the need to.

Don’t overthink goblin mode. It’s simply taking pleasure in hoarding shiny objects and being playfully mischievous

— 𝚗𝚘𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 (@rellortnocon) February 19, 2022

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