Terminally Online Intervention
“Touch grass” - telling someone to go outside, disconnect from internet, rejoin reality - became pandemic-era’s ironic advice for terminally online behavior (2020-2023).
Meaning: “You’re too chronically online, disconnect, experience real world, touch grass literally”
Pandemic irony: Telling people to go outside during lockdowns; advice impossible to follow; self-aware humor
Use cases: Responding to Twitter drama addiction, parasocial relationships, extremely online takes, niche discourse
Variations: “Go outside,” “log off,” “get some fresh air,” “see the sun,” “talk to real people”
Self-deprecating: “I need to touch grass” - acknowledging own terminally online status
Who needs it: People arguing about nothing online, overly invested in celebrity drama, posting 100x daily
Grass-touching discourse: Meta debates about who needs to touch grass; everyone calling everyone terminally online
“Chronically online”: Related term for people whose entire life/personality exists on social media
COVID context: Advice to touch grass while unable to leave house created absurdist humor
Real advice: Actually did need to disconnect; internet addiction recognized; digital detox trends
Touch grass represents internet’s self-aware recognition of its own toxicity - advice to log off, from people who won’t log off.
Sources:
https://www.dictionary.com/
https://www.knowyourmeme.com/memes/touch-grass