Shocked by the trend of chill guy, chill girl, decoding the word chill guy

In recent days, just scrolling through social media, it is not difficult to recognize statuses that have one thing in common: mentioning chill guys - relaxing girls, relaxing guys. Currently, the hashtag "chill guy" has more than 250 thousand posts on TikTok.

For example, the statuses about the above trend are going viral on TikTok, with the following content describing yourself and your feelings:

- "The end of 2024 is almost here, you realize you're still unemployed, in debt, asking your parents for 5k to park your car, but it's okay because you're a relaxed person."

- "When you forget to reply to her text for two weeks but you're a chill guy."

- "Everyone has a lover before winter, setting a deadline to have a lover before Tet but I don't because I'm a relaxed guy."

- "Even though the alarm went off, I was late for work. But I still gave myself 15 more minutes because I'm not afraid of my boss and I'm a relaxed person."

- "When everything in your life is a mess but it's okay because you're a chill girl."

- "It's the end of the year, Tet is coming, I have no money, I haven't done my hair, I haven't bought any new clothes, I haven't done my nails or toenails, and I also have no money, but it's okay because I'm a relaxed girl."

The general formula of the chill guy trend is to state a problem, issue, or event that is difficult and that you have encountered, are encountering, or will encounter and that you are okay/don't care about it or still feel light and happy because you are a relaxed person.

According to research, the term "chill guy" was used by artist Philip Banks to describe the anthropomorphic brown dog character he sketched.

This article was posted by the male artist on the X platform (Formerly Twitter) in 2023. He captioned: "My new character. His whole deal is he's a chill guy that lowkey doesn't give a ****".

The dog is brown, wearing blue wool pants, a gray shirt, hands in pockets, with a calm smile and seemingly unaffected by anything happening around it.

Although it was posted last year, chill guy only really exploded on social media around November 2024 - used by many users to become a symbol (meme) for optimism, calmness and comfort in the face of all difficulties, widely spread - becoming a chill guy trend. It makes many people feel... sympathy.

In Vietnam, this trend is translated into Vietnamese as "relaxing girl, relaxing boy". Besides sticking to the original meaning, this translation also has a humorous, simple meaning that young people want to convey.

Therefore, the chill guy trend quickly received a lot of response from young people. Many netizens said that this is not just a trend for entertainment, responding for fun, but if viewed in a positive way, it also has healing value, reducing pressure in life. Especially during the time when the New Year and Lunar New Year are approaching - adding 1001 problems to weigh on many people.

When this trend directs users to choose a positive, calm attitude in the face of difficulties and sadness in life. Like a soothing "it's okay, just stay calm and everything will be fine". From there, we slowly find ways to solve difficulties and overcome them more easily instead of being stressed or anxious. "In a world with too much toxicity and overthinking, this trend is truly healing", a netizen commented.

However, chilling does not mean being far from reality, not caring about reality, but simply choosing a more positive perspective when facing difficulties and still finding ways to solve them. In addition to bringing positive, simple energy, the chill guy trend can also be applied in many different situations, from office workers, students... can easily apply this trend to every situation in life.