Everybody’s heard some iteration of the phrase “good vibes” right? Whether it be at a party, hanging out with friends, or in an Instagram post, this phrase has taken over social media as well as the way in which we describe the things we like in recent years. This popularity begs the question: where did the phrase “good vibes” come from and why is it used so much?
Good vibes developed as a phrase from the saying “good (or positive) vibrations”. The neurology behind this phenomenon comes from the idea that everything is made up of energy that is able to vibrate depending on its surroundings. When the energy of an environment vibrates in a certain way, as a result of the people and objects in a space and their individual energies, it creates the feelings that we all experience as vibes or vibrations. Now, depending on the energy being expressed or the environment created by said energy, different feelings may arise. These energies can often be thought of as a spectrum between good and bad vibes, also referred to as positive and negative energy.
The things that cause people’s feelings of “good vibes” can actually have deeply personal meanings, depending on what energy or environment makes them happy. Introverts may find intimate and generally cozy environments to have good vibes, whereas extroverts may find social settings or louder, more crowded spaces to have good vibes. It truly depends on who you are as a person and what you value. Some things that might give off good vibes to the masses could be experiences such as hanging out with friends, shopping, and going on vacation, but these vibrations could also be found in environmental factors such as soft lighting, quiet music playing, or the smell of cookies baking. Essentially, anything that makes you feel happy is something that gives off good vibes.
It’s interesting to see a phrase that has such personal meanings to each and every person, become so popular across all social media platforms as a blanket term for something fun somebody did. It’s inevitable now that on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat you’ll see posts or stories of someone getting together with their friends captioned with some variation of good vibes. This inescapable social phrase has also made its way onto the shelves of big box stores nationwide donning anything from a t-shirt to a throw pillow, and even cheap neon signs. It’s truly not that the phrase “good vibes” is particularly annoying nor is the concept behind it of creating an environment that one feels perfectly happy and at home in. However the way in which the general public is consuming the idea of good vibes en masse as just a quirky saying is what I feel the public is taking advantage of in their thoughtless use of good vibes.
Sources:
https://jaydearchives.com/2019/09/what-good-vibes-really-means/
https://www.neurologylive.com/view/how-real-are-vibes-good-and-bad
