mental-state

A modern social ritual where one person informally assesses another’s emotional state, energy level, or general life stability. A vibe check can be friendly, chaotic, or spiritual depending on context. The phrase originally emerged from meme culture—sometimes used jokingly to suggest physically ‘checking’ someone—and has since matured into a sincere shorthand for emotional awareness. In practice, it balances humor with genuine concern, capturing the uniquely Gen Z approach to mental health: semi-serious, semi-ironic, fully relatable.

“Vibe check—are you okay or just pretending again?”