por What is Forever alone?
forever alone Literally meaning «always alone», it is a meme popularized in 2010 that has become a humorous way of expressing that someone is alone, has no partner or friends, and that perhaps this will be their reality for a long time.
In general, a person who identifies with the phrase forever alone or «forever alone» is because either you have few friends or you make a great effort to get love without success.
The person who is under this state hopes to find love so that it takes him out of the social isolation in which he can find himself. In turn, someone who defines himself in the status of forever alone it is humorous to believe that feel lonely all his life.
forever alonewhat does the meme mean?
forever alone is a comic character used to express loneliness and disappointment with life. This meme also inspired the creation of the “snowclone” template, “Forever an X”.
forever alone He is considered one of the first fictional characters to be created after the original Rage Guy, which first emerged in 2009. According to various sources, the original comic was uploaded in a thread titled «April Fools» by the user «Funny Junk Azuul» on May 28, 2010.
Its success was immediate, and by September 2010 there were over 23,000 image results from forever alone on Funny Junk and over 50,000 on Tumblr.
On February 13, 2013, the International Business Times posted a slideshow of comics from forever alone for Valentine. Then, a Facebook page titled forever alonewhich has received more than 7.2 million forwards and has almost 1,750,000 followers.
The popularity of forever alone it even caught the attention of the media and big business. For example, Sony Ericsson used the character extensively in a series of spots for its Xperiathon campaign.
Psychological factors that drive the use of forever alone
Loneliness is “being without company” and “isolated from others”. Often, it is perceived as a lack of social relationships and a failure to establish interpersonal relationships.
However, not much research has been done on the interaction between the perception of loneliness and other factors such as age and gender.
In this sense, the factors of loneliness and the social elements that lead to feeling identified with Forever alone are:
Feeling of being isolated
The feeling of loneliness, or of being isolated from others, is a human emotion, and a complex emotional response to lack of companionship.
It is said that one in five people is lonely and most people have no one to talk to or spend time with, a feeling that is growing.
Loneliness has increased with modernization, as people are concentrated in virtual communities and social networks and have no desire to attend social gatherings or keep in touch with family and friends.
However, over time, loneliness and lack of companionship make people vulnerable, which affects their physical and mental health, increasing the chances of mental disorders.
Studies reveal that women are more likely to judge loneliness more harshly than men, and that men are generally perceived as lonelier if they exhibit introverted traits.
genetic loneliness
Research shows that loneliness is connected to genetics, but there are various external factors that lead to it, and social isolation in certain individuals works like a major depressive disorder that can even lead to suicide.
Abused or rejected by others
Loneliness and depression are closely related. It is a feeling of isolation that can develop in an individual who is repeatedly rejected or abused by family, friends, or romantic partners.
In this sense, the abuse can come from mocking or bullying, which must be prevented by family or friends.
Loneliness due to a sentimental breakup
For overly emotional and sensitive people, a breakup or «heartbreak» can have serious effects on mental health. The feeling of intense loneliness after a breakup and the feelings of losing a loved one can be difficult for some people to deal with.
For most people, these feelings are short-lived and can be dealt with effectively. But for others, the feeling can continue for years, leading to a loneliness that can also cause mental illness and psychiatric disorders.
death or divorce
Divorce or death of one spouse indisputably pushes the other to loneliness and depression.
As numerous research studies have shown, marital grief is a major source of life stress that often leaves people vulnerable to later problems, such as depression, he chronic stress and reduced life expectancy.
While the grief process often takes weeks or months to subside, a small minority of bereaved people experience symptoms for much longer. In many cases, these symptoms can mimic other psychiatric disorders.
Loneliness also represents perhaps the biggest challenge for seniors who they suffer the loss of a spouse, which makes it particularly difficult to move on with their lives afterward.
social media
With the advancement of social media, people are becoming more immersed in virtual communities and online friendships, and are losing interest in maintaining real-life social ties with family members, friends, and neighbors.
Research shows that spending too much time on social media can be counterproductive and actually makes people feel lonelier. Although they serve to communicate, paradoxically, social networks can be one of the great causes of being forever alone.
The meme in question has been so popular that various artists and music bands around the world have taken the phrase as a song title, such as the Argentine singer Paulo Londra.
Examples of situations where the forever alone
When friends cancel plans at the last minute, and you’re left home alone while they go out to have fun. «I’m forever alone”. When you’re at a party and everyone seems to have a partner or friends to chat with, but you’re alone in a corner. When you see all your friends posting photos of meetings on social networks, where you were not invited. When you send messages to your friends and no one responds, and you feel ignored and lonely. When you’re trying to find a partner or go on a date, but no one seems to be interested in you.
All these situations are typical of the Forever alone.
Other expressions used in social networks
GPI.
Lol.
YOLO.
Turn down for what.
7U7.
References
Grief, Loneliness, and Losing a Spouse. Retrieved from psychologytoday.com.
Forever Alone – Meme History. Retrieved from conanhughes.com.
What does mean forever alone? Retrieved from reddit.com.
Forever Alone. Recovered from urbandictionary.com.