Dead Inside

Dead Inside (дед инсайд) is an internet subculture prevalent among teenagers from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The term refers to young people who describe themselves as "ghouls" (referencing Tokyo Ghoul), play the computer game Dota 2, watch anime, and position themselves as depressed, sad, and disappointed in life at their young age.

This subculture manifests primarily through online interactions, where members adopt avatars of Tokyo Ghoul characters, especially Kaneki Ken, and participate in discussions centered on themes of suicide, loneliness, and the "meaninglessness" of existence. Within the Dota 2 community, "Dead Inside" is associated with toxic behavior, including verbal harassment and intentionally poor gameplay, often accompanied by expressions of indifference like "I don't care about the game" or "1000-7" (referencing the torture scene in Tokyo Ghoul where Kaneki is forced to count backwards from 1000 by 7 to maintain consciousness).

"Dead Inside" has also become subject to mockery and memes on the Russian-speaking internet. The word "дед" (dead) technically means "grandfather" in Russian. This has led to memes featuring elderly people portraying the "Dead Inside" persona.

History[]

Dead Inside was popularized by Ilya Korobkin (ALOHADANCE), a Ukrainian professional Dota 2 player and Twitch streamer. Though the phrase "dead inside" predates the meme and generally refers to feelings of apathy or emotional numbness, ALOHADANCE's use of the phrase and its subsequent adoption by his fanbase gave it a new, specific meaning within the Dota 2 community.

The expression was popularized among Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian Dota 2 players in 2014 when ALOHADANCE stated in an interview that he was "dead inside and didn't care about the game." This statement and his decision to tattoo the phrase on himself turned "dead inside" into his personal trademark. It was also adopted by a segment of the community who related to his nihilistic attitude and in-game behavior, which often involved expressing indifference towards the game and toxic behavior towards others.

In 2021, the phrase experienced a resurgence and began to be used more broadly to refer to pessimists who realized the complete meaninglessness of everything that was happening in reality, and decided to do nothing more. Such people began to discuss online what was happening, the decline of the world, everything else they saw.

By 2022, "dead inside" became more popular as a meme rather than a self-designation for "sad" people.

Fashion[]

Black colors in clothes.
Drain-style prints.
Dyed hair in black, white or red.
A bang that covers half of the face.

Slang[]

They use specific phrases, such as:^[1]

пофиг на игру (don't care about the game)
нажал мув за тобой (clicked 'move' to follow you)
ты в муте (you're muted)
мне похуй я дед инсайд (I don't care, I'm dead inside)
щас шмотки сломаю (I'll break my items now)
го zxc если не позер (go zxc if you're not a poser)
1000-7 (referencing Kaneki's torture and mental resilience in Tokyo Ghoul)