Touch Grass

Definition:

A comment suggesting someone should disconnect from the digital world and reconnect with reality by literally going outside

Context:

The phrase "touch grass" emerged around 2015 on Twitter, gaining significant traction in 2019-2021 as an alternative to telling someone to "go outside." It's commonly deployed during heated online arguments when someone appears to have lost perspective due to excessive internet immersion, particularly aimed at gamers, passionate fandom members, or anyone expressing opinions deemed detached from reality.

The phrase has evolved beyond just being an insult and is now often used self-deprecatingly by people acknowledging their own internet addiction, becoming something of an inside joke among chronically online communities. In late 2021, people started making memes suggesting that “touching grass is not enough,” joking that they tried to touch grass but it did nothing to help their internet-poisoned brains.

Example:

^{(all names & events in the
following scenario have been made
up)}

Ryelee: “Just spent three hours arguing with strangers online about whether pineapple belongs on pizza.”

Rachet: “Go touch grass, bestie. Life's too short.”