LIKING YOUR OWN FACEBOOK STATUS / IS LIKE GIVING YOURSELF A HI-FIVE IN PUBLIC
A Forever Alone post.
Forever Alone is a rage comic face: a lumpy, round face with tears in its eyes and a brave, wobbly smile. It appeared around 2010 and became the internet's symbol of loneliness. He is sad, but he is trying, and somehow that's worse. Captions describe being left out in the most detailed way possible. The top line raises hope, the bottom line removes it. "Phone buzzes! It's the battery saying it's low." "Gets a birthday message - from the dentist." "Holds the door for someone - they go the other way." The trick is that the person posting is in on it. Nobody truly lonely announces it with a cartoon face; it's a way of laughing at a quiet Friday before anyone else can. The tears are real-ish. The smile is more convincing than it looks. **Why it caught on:** it makes being alone feel like a shared joke, which is a little less alone.