Meaning:

    “吃瓜” means to “eat water melon,” and “群众” means “common folks.” Often used by Chinese netizens, this term refers to “onlookers who are not familiar with the topics being discussed or who want to keep a neutral stand in an online debate.” People often use this term to refer to themselves at online forums. Some said the term derived from “吃瓜子群众” (those who eat sunflower seeds or water melon seeds), for Chinese audiences used to snack on the nuts while watching a show in theaters in the past.

    Example:

    A: 昨天群里的讨论很激烈啊。你觉得小区车位该不该出售？

    Zuótiān qún lǐ de tǎolùn hěn jīliè a。Nǐ juédé xiǎoqū chēwèi gāibùgāi chūshòu?

    The discussion in our WeChat group was heated yesterday. Do you think it right to offer parking spaces in our housing estate for sale?

    B: 我只是吃瓜群众。

    Wǒ zhǐshì chīguā qúnzhòng。

    No comment.

    A: 你也要停车啊。

    Nǐ yě yào tíngchē a。

    But you have to park your car as well.

    B: 把车位规划的更科学，提供更多可停车的地方才是解决办法。

    Bǎ chēwèi guīhuà de gèng kēxué, tígōng gèngduō kě tíngchē de dìfāng cáishì jiějué bànfǎ。

    The only solution is to make a better planning and offer more spaces for people to park their cars.