The mental state someone enters when they've decided nobody new is getting into their world. Gatekeep mode isn't a permanent personality — it's a conscious switch you flip when your favorite thing starts going mainstream and you want to protect it. During gatekeep mode, you become selectively forgetful about band names, refuse to share restaurant recs, and mysteriously lose the ability to explain your niche hobby to curious newcomers.
Ever since that subreddit blew up, she's been in full gatekeep mode — won't even tell her roommates the name of the album.
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Viral internet speak — memes, ratios, main-character moments, and the algospeak of every platform from Twitter to Reddit to TikTok comment sections.
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