We like to feel special; to see ourselves as individuals who stand out from the crowd. In a world where we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, having a sense of distinct personality and character provides self-assurance and confidence.
But if we try desperately to convince everyone that we are unique, more often than not we just embarrass ourselves. Whether we know it or not. And the subreddit 'I Am Very Random' has plenty of examples to prove it.
Dedicated to "people and humor trying too hard to act random or quirky," its 383K members have compiled quite a cringey catalog since the sub's inception in November 2015. Here are some of the best (or worst) entries.
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My Principal Hung This Up In School, And People Were Ironically Laughing At It
I Have Bean Watching Him Again
We managed to get in touch with who seems to be the last active moderator of 'I Am Very Random' and as much as we enjoy the subreddit, they said that the community is slowly perishing into internet obscurity.
"If I was to be real, the sub is basically [already] dead," they told Bored Panda. "It gets 2 or 3 posts per day and about 80% of these don't fit the [rules] and are removed."
Goats Are Like Mushrooms
R/Memes Is A Gold Mine
Twitter Brand 'Personalities' Are The Worst Thing In The World
That's definitely sad news. Ranked by size, 'I Am Very Random' is among the top 1% of subreddits. However, the moderator said that this decline has been happening for some time now.
"I don't know how active [the community was in its prime] but much more so than it is now. There were only 2 mods, both of whom abandoned it and therefore it got spammed with posts that didn't fit and people gave up on it," they explained the origins of the demise.
Cheese The Environment
Caps Lock Broke
Found On Ig
Sums Up This Community
However, even if 'I Am Very Random' fades away, people will still continue making these posts.
According to licensed professional counselor Shala Nicely, feeling seen by others is a basic human need. "Its basis is evolutionary: if your tribe didn't see you, there was a risk you'd be left behind when the nomadic life of early humans dictated they move, and being alone equated to death," Nicely wrote in Psychology Today. "If other tribes didn't see and respect you and your tribe, they were likely to invade your territory, take your resources, and leave you and your family to die."
Potato Yes
Number Neighbors!
I hope my turtles don’t eat my eyes in the night. My cats and dog would probably join in. Potato.
(Insert Caption Here)
This News Article
But while it's perfectly human to want to be noticed, taken seriously, and loved, there might be a problem when attention-seeking actions are motivated by a feeling of low self-esteem, jealousy, loneliness, or because of a psychiatric condition. In these instances, the behavior can come across as extreme or hysterical.
Obama
Oh dear God. When I was 4ish/5ish, we had a cherry tree and they were all sooooo good and I wanted to eat all the cherries but spitting out the pits was taking away too much time from eating cherries so I just swallowed them. I am proof that you won't die, but my underwear sure did a few hours later
This Whole Show
One Reason Why I Hate Sorting By New
Haha He’s A Lemon
Moreover, attention-seeking behavior that happens frequently, is often manipulative and passive-aggressive, and can push people away, strain relationships, or ruin them altogether.
At times, severe attention-seeking behavior—especially when caused by a mental health issue or a personality disorder—can make it difficult for someone to stay employed or be a functioning member of society.
So Funny And Ramdom
Took Me About 40 Seconds To Make
This One Hurt
I'm Disappointed In The Percentages
However, as psychotherapist Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D., said, attention-seeking behavior does not mean that someone is bad, broken, or evil; more often than not it means that there may be a little hole in their soul and they need to spend some time patching it.
Sia’s Spotify About Page Isn’t Doing Her Any Favors
Didnt Even Spell Ukulele Right Smh
This Guys Is Probably Barely 13
Discord Is... Interesting
Observing Potato
Pizza
God I Hate When That Happens
The P Word
Hi potato. Me iz hedgehog but no fear because hedgehogs, hopefully, doesn’t eat raw potatoes.
I’m Cringing Into A Black Hole
Damn, They Got Marzia Too
That Chicken Kinda Thicc Tho
What The F**k (This Person Is A 16 Year Old)
What If I Told You
I Was Looking Through All My Facebook Posts, And Found This From When I Was 11
Potato Amirite Ahah
There are soooooo many potato in these posts and I dunno if it’s in the title but it’s nice :D
The Truth
How Frickin Random
Quirky
I wasted too much time reading this stupid thread. Good thing I stopped halfway through it.
I hereby present the "potato paradox": people are collectively using the word "POTATO" to display their unique randomness, which has resulted in it being the opposite of unique or random.
A little bit overboard with the potatoes, honestly, and that's coming from someone who named themselves lil potato
I wasted too much time reading this stupid thread. Good thing I stopped halfway through it.
I hereby present the "potato paradox": people are collectively using the word "POTATO" to display their unique randomness, which has resulted in it being the opposite of unique or random.
A little bit overboard with the potatoes, honestly, and that's coming from someone who named themselves lil potato