going down the rabbit hole
/ˈɡoʊɪŋ daʊn ðə ˈræbɪt hoʊl/
Very CommonActively entering a deep, absorbing spiral of content or information you didn't plan to.
The phrase emphasizes the active, in-progress experience versus 'rabbit hole' which often describes the destination or topic. 'Going down' captures the feeling of the pull, the depth, and the loss of control over where you end up.
Real-world examples5 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | I'm going down the rabbit hole on the Salton Sea and I can't stop. Someone call me. | Currently in the middle of an absorbing deep dive on a specific topic. | x, 2024 |
| 02 | Went down the rabbit hole on that case at midnight. Do not recommend. My brain is broken. | An unplanned late-night deep dive left the person disturbed or overwhelmed. | tiktok, 2023 |
| 03 | This is a bad week to be going down the rabbit hole on parasocial drama but here I am | Despite having other priorities, the person got pulled into internet drama content. | reddit, 2024 |
| 04 | I told myself five minutes. I'm now going down the rabbit hole on obscure Japanese vending machines. It's been two hours. | What started as a quick look turned into an extended, unplanned deep dive. | x, 2023 |
| 05 | Don't go down the rabbit hole on that sub. Seriously. Some things you can't unread. | Warning someone that engaging with this community will be disturbing or hard to shake. | reddit, 2023 |
Use it when
- You're in the middle of an unplanned deep dive and you know it.
- Describing the process of following links deeper and deeper into a topic.
- Warning someone that a topic will absorb more time than expected.
- Sharing that you spent hours on a niche topic you stumbled into.
Do not use it when
- You planned to research a topic thoroughly.
- Someone is being pushed toward extremism over months.Use “algorithm-radicalization” instead.
Origin and context
Verbal form of rabbit hole, from Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.' This phrasing emphasizes the active, in-progress experience of the spiral. Common in internet slang since early social media and grew with YouTube autoplay culture.
- First seen
- early-2010s
- Confidence
- high
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Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/going-down-the-rabbit-holeUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0