![]() Put simply, “vibe check” needs its vibes checked. The second definition is a 180: 'A vibe check is a time where you're about to deck someone with your fists or another blunt. Urban Dictionary’s original 2011 definition of “vibe check,” though gently critical of bohemian pseudoscience, is innocuous enough: “A process by which a group or individual obtains a subjective assessment of the mental and emotional state of another person, place or thing. Grounded in a belief in pachouli, sage, or karma and sometimes veggie burgers.” Not anchored in or limited to science, psychology or sociology. Over eight years later, a viral Tumblr comic redefined the process in question, depicting one stick figure yelling “vibe check!” to another before whacking its companion over the head with a baseball bat. ![]() The post garnered over 30,000 notes and inspired a bevy of spinoffs linking “vibe check” to scenes of violence from (simulated) medieval warfare, Greek mythology, and famous assassinations, to name a few. This recent interpretation of “vibe check” marks an undeniable shift from selflessness to self-interest. A term born out of genuine care for loved ones’ emotional well-being has evolved to represent an unsettling endorsement of physical aggression as a way to eliminate bad vibes. Given society’s current political and social polarization, negative feelings are hard to escape. ![]() But is resorting to violence, if only in memes, the best solution? Will the proliferation of ironic “vibe check” images ultimately generate more bad vibes, trapping us in a hellish feedback loop of vibe checks? It’s no wonder people are all too eager to get rid of them by embracing a tool unique to our generation: social media. ![]() On the other hand, it’s also possible to view the phrase not literally but as a metaphor for catharsis and empowerment. A figurative “vibe check” enables its proponents to concretize their fears in the form of a meme and vanquish them with a single swing of a baseball bat. ![]()
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