When I've thought about the concept of loneliness in the past, I've often pictured someone in isolation without any friends or family. It's something I've experienced to an extent myself as I moved away from home to go to university in 2010, and generally kept myself to myself outside of going to lectures.
It's funny to think that goodbyes are almost always merged with intentions to stay in touch and see each other again as soon as possible. As time goes by, the desire to do just that seems to fade away somewhat, at least in my experience.
However, I now believe that there are many different factors that contribute to loneliness. You can be surrounded by loads of great friends and family and still feel completely alone. A lot of this has to do with mental health issues, and perhaps I'll dig a little deeper into that side of things in the future.
For today, I'd like to consider the concept of interest loneliness. The idea here is that it's possible to feel lonely because you have an interest that you're unable to share with others. It's something that I've dealt with for years. Growing up, I was a part of the alternative culture here in England. I'm sure there will be all kinds of labels for this kind of person wherever you're from, but to paint a picture in the most simple way I can, I listened to heavy metal music, spent a lot of time skateboarding, and became a walking advertisement with a large array of band t-shirts.
I had lots of great friends who listened to the same bands as me, enjoyed skateboarding, and played video games just like I did. However, I was really interested in football and, in my experience, not too many people in the alternative scene liked it at all. In fact, most of them thought it was a complete waste of time.
Having nobody to talk to about football was something that bothered me when I was younger. It felt like a really lonely interest to have. I'd watch Liverpool play every week, but had nobody to talk to about what had happened. I did eventually stumble across the official Liverpool FC message boards, and this is where I would spend a lot of my time. It was amazing to be able to share my thoughts and opinions with others and read about what they thought, too.
Shared Experiences
I started thinking about writing this post the other day when I was on one of my late night YouTube binges. You know the kind. You start out watching someone creating a delicious meal, and before you know it, you're deep into a 2-hour long video about alien conspiracy theories.
Anyway, something I've noticed has become quite popular over the last year or so is reaction videos, and I've been hooked on them. For those who aren't familiar with them, they are videos of people reacting to other stuff. For example, I've been enjoying a few YouTube channels focused on hip-hop fans reacting to heavy metal music. There are some great content creators out there and it's fascinating to hear the thoughts and opinions of people who wouldn't necessarily indulge in that content under normal circumstances.
Back to my late night YouTube marathon, I found myself watching a couple reacting to 'Try Not To Laugh' videos. It's exactly as it sounds. The couple were watching a video of funny clips and doing their best not to laugh. As I continued to watch, I realised that I was enjoying the reactions more than the content itself, and it dawned on me that I felt happy in the company of strangers who couldn't even see me. The act of watching this video of funny clips and seeing people react to it felt like a shared experience, and it made the funny video much more enjoyable than it would have been without them.
Scorum and Lonely Sports Fans
With all this in mind, it's clear that there will be thousands upon thousands of people around the world who are interested in sports and have nobody to talk to about it. Scorum offers an amazing place to share your thoughts and feelings, take part in debates, learn new things, and share stories with people who are interested in hearing about them.
There is a wonderful community building here that is inclusive of all people and all kinds of sports fans. In just a short time on the platform, I have noticed people asking interesting questions about sports they're not even familiar with. This is a place to make friends and share knowledge with each other. It's a place where lonely sports fans can come to be around others who understand them. So when you're next selling the idea of Scorum to a friend or family member, please do tell them that it's so much more than a place to earn.
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