The 2022 word of the year, selected in part by public vote but officially designated by Oxford English Dictionary, is "goblin mode." The slang term is defined as “unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly or greedy” behavior that “rejects social norms and expectations.”
Goblins are small, ugly, mischievous and unkind creatures that appear in European folklore dating back to the Middle Ages. Use of the 21st century “goblin mode” to describe yourself or another human being who purposefully chooses to be antisocial and hedonistic dates to a 2009 Twitter post, but it went viral in 2022.
I’m in my mid-30s, which must make me an Elder Millennial, because what’s popular on the internet (do we even call it the internet anymore? Is it the MetaVerse? 5G? The InterWeb?) confounds me.
Though, if 2020 was The Pandemic, and 2021 the year of The Great Resignation, it’s understandable that 2022 was the year of goblin mode.
Because, let’s face it, being a pleasant, productive member of society is exhausting.
This is most apparent around Jan. 1, when holiday-season advertising gives way to "new year, new you!"
Run a marathon, buy a Peloton, do a juice fast, eat Keto, eat Paleo, swear off bacon, quit eating sugar, forsake every form of carbohydrate, etc. Phew. The extreme swing from holiday glut to ascetic January sets even the savviest consumer up for failure.
“Quitter’s Day,” the date by which an estimated 80% of resolution-makers have given up on lofty New Year goals, is Jan. 19. That’s according to the fitness and workout-logging app Strava, based on more than 800 million activities documented by its 42 million users.
That data was collected back in 2019, however, a distant past when most of us still had the silly notion of being in control of our lives.
Then, 2020 came along, and when each day is a new and different global catastrophe, why should anyone aspire to lose 20 pounds? Time to go goblin mode.
COVID-19 forced us all into our goblin caves, and endless hours of sweatpants-wearing, snacking, and self-reflection.
We reprioritized our lives, and realized that what’s being advertised on TV and populating our social media feeds isn’t necessarily reality. So-called “societal expectations” are in many cases just clever corporate marketing selling us goals and ideas that are neither realistic nor fulfilling to us personally.
Is 2023 the year we all achieve balance? Adopt sensible healthy habits that allow us to simply enjoy our lives?
I’d like to think it is, and take as evidence the recent days I have spent in downtown Frederick.
On weekends and during the week, even in bitingly cold weather, the sidewalks and storefronts appear full of people. This pleasantly defied my expectations, since January is generally a slow month for retailers and restaurants as customers recover from holiday festivities by budgeting, going on diets, and staying home.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. Plenty of local businesses cater to traditional New Year’s resolutions, whether it’s the YMCA’s range of fitness offerings at the YMCA, classes at Sol Yoga or Yogamour, locally sourced produce at the Common Market Co-op or a juice from either BK Juices or Juice Up Cafe.
Resolutions aside, spending time, energy and money anywhere within the community is the best way to ensure a prosperous and healthy 2023, both for ourselves and for our neighbors. Judging by the number of people dining, shopping, getting haircuts and otherwise enjoying themselves downtown, I’d say Fredericktonians already know that.
Will 2023 prove to be Goblin Mode: Year Two? It’s entirely possible.
Who doesn’t like to hang out at home in a rumpled pair of sweatpants, with a shirt full of Goblin-like stains and crumbs?
You can even go out in public that way, no problem. Shop clerks will happily take your business and bid you a good day, all the same.
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The topics you choose are always uniquely satisfying entertainment.
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