本期新词

开启

Goblin Mode

你是不是也有过这样的时刻？

时不常地，就想把心底关着的那只“不怕丑来不怕脏”“不想社交爱犯懒”的“小怪兽”放出来“破罐子破摔”一下。

任凭他天王老子来了也休想让我换下这皱巴巴的睡衣，“被子一盖谁都不爱，油头一甩谁也不睬”。

放心，没在你家安摄像头，想这样做的可不止你一人！

今天的Buzzword 就让我们浅聊一下和上述心态有关，且最近在国外社交媒体上很火的一个词, the Goblin Mode--哥布林模式.

01

Word Origins

To understand what Goblin Mode is, we need to understand the original meaning of the word “goblin”.

In European folklore,“goblin”is a general name for evil and malicious spirits, usually small and grotesque in appearance.

Now in many of the stories, they are described as a subterranean species, so they live underground.

They don't really socialize with humans apart from causing them trouble, and they pay zero attention to how they look.

在欧洲的民间传说里提到这样一种长相怪异丑陋的像精灵一样的类人生物, 他们被叫做Goblin哥布林;

如果你喜欢奇幻题材的影视游戏, 肯定也见过goblin这样的存在。

哥布林的颜值一言难尽，他们很多时候生活在地下, 和人类也没有什么良性的互动。

这时候你可能要问了，那这“小怪兽”跟我有啥关系？

想象一下，在某个宅家的周末, 你穿着睡衣睡眼惺忪, 狼吞虎咽地吃了一包泡面, 泡面的汤汁滴得到处都是, 连你家狗子都看不下去了，满脸嫌弃。

你没日没夜地“肝”完了一部狗血的网剧, 马上准备连“肝”下一部。

那么恭喜, 此时的你已经完美地开启了“哥布林模式”。

一键开启“躺吃模式”

Picture this: it’s Saturday afternoon, and you have hundreds of things to do, but instead of doing them, you're in your pajamas, you make yourself a comforting bowl of instant noodles and devour them, splashing soup over your chin and your bed sheets while your dog looks at you in disgust.

You've just binged an entire web series and are preparing to start another.

You feel a bit like a slob. Look at yourself in a mirror, you're just in “Goblin mode”.

02

What is Goblin Mode?

所谓的“哥布林模式” 就是在这几年断断续续的疫情宅家下, 我们逐渐习惯的那种居家生活和躺平摆烂的状态。

这个模式基本上就是睡衣已然 “焊”在身上, 床是主要栖息地, 每天在罐头和包装袋里觅食, 强迫症一样的刷着垃圾网剧和社交媒体。

只要在 TikTok上面搜索Goblin Mode, 就可以看到五花八门的躺平摆烂的视频, 比如顶着一张油到反光的素颜脸和至少两个星期没有洗的鸡窝头, 吃着在床角夹缝里找到的零食碎片, 统统都是Goblin Mode的常态.

So this Goblin Mode, which is taking the current pandemic-ridden world by storm, is a state of being that is defined by behaviors people got used to during deep lockdown days.

Never getting out of bed, never changing into real clothes, grazing from tins or packets instead of cooking, binge watching trash TV and doom-scrolling.

Although the first use of “Goblin mode” seems to be in 2009, according to Google Trends, the buzzword Goblin Mode started to rise in popularity in February this year and spiked lately.

On TikTok, if you search #GoblinMode, you will see plenty of videos from “Binge eating junk food in your pajamas”, to “not taking your meds”, and “hoarding weird things just in case you run out”.

Or it could also be women wearing no makeup and mismatched sweat suits, confessing to the camera.

A very apt summary about this goblin mode is “goblin mode is kind of the opposite of trying to better yourself.”

03

Do People Like It?

说实话, 在疫情这两年半之间, 我们断断续续的经历了超长的宅家生活, 已经很习惯这种"舒适就是王道"的状态了，谁还管形象不形象的呢?

哪怕是在现在，很多国家已经取消了疫情管控, 但人们已经尝到了这种居家躺平的甜头，很难再回去了。

The fact is after two and a half years of on-and-off lockdowns, many of us became overly acquainted with our bedrooms:

loungewear became workwear, and our sofas became makeshift desks.

We started to prioritize physical comfort over keeping up appearances.

And guess what? To a lot of people, it felt good.

Now as many countries in the world are lifting Covid restrictions, there's distinct pressure to return to our pre-pandemic lives, but many people are actually reluctant to do so.

They don't want to do it. They've entered goblin mode, and they have no intention of leaving.

最近推特上有一条很火的信息, 就认为所谓的哥布林模式并不是一个永久的身份, 而是一种心境，是完全不需要考虑美感。

According to Dave, a self-described “real-life goblin” whose tweet about goblin mode recently went viral.

Goblin mode is not a permanent identity, but a frame of mind.

It's about a Complete lack of aesthetic, because why would a goblin care about what they look like?

Why would a goblin care about presentation？

Now some people say this goblin trend represents a direct departure from the hyper-curated social media content of early pandemic days.

Back them, everyone was trying to stay positive and training themselves in homemaking skills like cooking, baking, and arts and crafts.

有人就说现在流行的这种摆烂躺平的哥布林模式和疫情宅家初期那些岁月静好型的视频形成了鲜明的对比。

可连帅气的明星都选择了“舒适模式”，我们路人还怕啥朴素纯真，天然去雕饰呢！

But as the pandemic wears on endlessly, and the chaos of current events worsens, people feel cheated by the system and have rejected such goals.

As someone said on social media, “At home there’s no social pressure to follow norms, so you sort of lose the habit, there's also a feeling that we're all fxxxd, so why bother?”

不过，也由于疫情越拖越长, 世界出现了各种的不安定和动荡, 人们难免开始有了负面和摆烂的情绪。

也许真正能完美诠释这种Goblin Mode的心境, 还是沈腾的那句：毁灭吧！赶紧的，累了。

Example 1：

-When you’re tired of the pressure to look perfect on social media, it is good to slip into the goblin mode from time to time.