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Going above and beyond the normal behaviors associated with social interaction in order to fit in. But not in the good way.

Summary

Trying too hard is exactly as it sounds. It's when an otherwise normal and healthy person becomes overwhelmed with the social stresses of friend making and entertaining, and proceeds to try so hard to impress their peers that they make a complete annoyance of themselves. While outright bizarre and disruptive to the peers in question, it can also be a source of entertainment and fellowship amongst the rest of the group as they watch the try-too-hard stumble his way through every joke, attention whoring tactic, clothing combination and state of mental illness until he finds something which yields a positive reaction. This often includes down-talking other party-goers and trying to incite pissing matches.

The problem here is that usually the try-too-hard tries so hard that he rarely reaches this pipe-dream of a try-hard nirvana (the acceptance of his peers), due to the quickly tiresome nature of his behavior. The inability to get a positive reaction can often lead to a dangerous, though unprovoked, negative reaction in which the try-too-hard drops to it's simpler molecular form, the Emo.

Origins

Trying Too Hard has been present on the Internet since it began. This is due primarily to the behavior having existed throughout human history. Even as early as the early biblical passages, human beings have always been prone to overstate their skills, looks and positions in pursuit of the approval of peers, lovers, or gods. Most of these instances end in ultimate failure (Abel thought he was really impressing everyone with his animal offerings until Cain got sick of it and stabbed him in the uvula.)

Current status

One of the Internet's strongest phenomena, Trying Too Hard can be found any place where competition exists or more than 2 people are in the same place at one time. Common boards to seek out trying too hard for scientific purposes are usually 4chan and Teen Chats.

Facts

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Related Pages

Hipster

Pseudo-intellectual

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