Digital Threat Digest - 15 December 2022
PGI’s Digital Investigations Team brings you the Digital Threat Digest, SOCMINT and OSINT insights into disinformation, influence operations, and online harms.
2023: Year of the chronically-online goblin?
The Oxford Dictionary word of 2022 was ‘goblin mode’, defined as “a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.” It was very amusing to log on and see the phrase trending, and even more amusing to find out the reason why. But it was also a little surprising because while I’d seen (and even used) the phrase multiple times throughout the year there was one other that I am sure surpasses it in terms of virality – ‘chronically online’.
The term ‘chronically online’ (sometimes referenced as ‘terminally online’) refers to a ‘take’ on a situation that is entirely decontextualized from the original meaning or sentiment of whatever it relates to. It’s essentially: “this extremely specific point of view and/or experience doesn’t represent my personal experience and so this is clearly a direct, war-engaging attack on me - I am so offended!” just in a thousand different ways; often with a bit of gaslighting thrown in there for good measure.
Earlier in the month, Rebecca Jennings of Vox tweeted “what was the most chronically online discourse you saw this year”, and should you need a laugh today I’d recommend scrolling through the replies. #ChronicallyOnline on TikTok also has some golden content if you prefer your laughs in video rather than text.
In a great article Jennings went on to write about the trend, she explains how very few people ever engage with these chronic takes in real life. And to some extent she’s right. Most people don’t act the same way online as they do in the real world – the person who tweeted abuse at a woman for tweeting about enjoying a nice morning talking in the garden with her husband would never lean over the fence of said woman's garden and say it to her face.
But what about those who DO replicate their online persona in the real world?
Over the past decade, online culture has increasingly merged with the real world. An example of this could be pointed out in the boom of comic cons – a decade ago the cosplayers that turned up would be dressed as ‘traditional’ comic book/pop culture icons. Nowadays people go dressed up as memes, characters from TikTok trends, and even visual interpretations of online discourse. Because of this, the audience these events draw has gone from being people like myself who have a whole collection of weekly paper comics stashed in a draw in their childhood bedroom to being big enough that, on comic con days, TfL make specific announcements across the underground directing con goers to the event. A more general example would be to go and listen to any Gen-Z on Gen-Z conversation – sooner rather than later one online trend or another will be referenced.
But as the online world happily diversifies events like comic con and subjectively makes conversations funnier, the dark side of the internet is also bleeding into the real world. As much as most people still find security behind a screen and would never say half the things to the actual person’s face, the group of people who would is getting bigger. Whether that parallel is made through an undeniable increase in online references in extremist manifestos, or whether that’s overhearing blatant misogynistic commentary on the tube between two blokes who think Andrew Tate is a real ‘G’ – online discourse is real-life discourse.
So, when we talk about people going goblin mode, or when we read these ‘chronically online’ takes, we need to take a good look at the narratives and the underlying conversation beneath it all. Recent history has proven that there is a small delay—of anywhere between a couple months to a couple years—between subjectively harmful online trends and genuine real-world harm. For example, Pizzagate was a focal point for online conspiracy for over a year before someone decided to take it upon themselves to take a gun to Comet Pizza in Washington DC and investigate it for themselves. In a less extreme example, there was a few months delay between Andrew Tate ‘blowing up’ online and overhearing conversations in the real world that support and promote his misogynistic and homophobic worldview. So, eventually, at some point these chronically online and goblin mode social media trends will feed into our day-to-day life – if we can anticipate the changes in narrative and opinion ahead of time, perhaps we can minimise any potential real-world harm that might bring.
More about Protection Group International's Digital Investigations
PGI’s Social Media Intelligence Analysts combine modern exploitative technology with deep human analytical expertise that covers the social media platforms themselves and the behaviours and the intents of those who use them. Our experienced analyst team have a deep understanding of how various threat groups use social media and follow a three-pronged approach focused on content, behaviour and infrastructure to assess and substantiate threat landscapes.
Disclaimer: Protection Group International does not endorse any of the linked content.