What is the meaning of the word “Copium”?
Maksym ShylovMany Internet users and others have heard about the term “copium”. Phrases like “Give him copium”, “Copium for people”, and others sound frequently not just during discussions of gaming topics on Twitch streams but social-political and even military events. In this material, we will find out the meaning of this term and its use in modern culture.
The origin
Copium consists of two parts: “cope” and “opium”. The meaning of the word should be interpreted as a fictional drug to overcome difficulties or to calm down after a big failure or a row of losses.
The first use of the word “copium” was back in 2003 when the rapper Keak da Sneak released his album called Copium. This meme began appearing on the popular anonymous forum 4chan in the second half of the 2010s.
Also, copium is used together with another popular meme, Pepe the Frog. A crying frog that inhales copium using oxygen masks has finally formed the public’s perception of this meme.
Usage in modern culture
In the esports environment and on streams, viewers frequently offer to take copium for a team or a player that loses systematically or has suffered a hard loss. Also, it is considered that fans of not the most successful teams are copium addicted because they have to cope with the losses of their favorite team regularly.
The performance of the English-speaking panel at The International when Evil Geniuses were eliminated from the tournament after losing to beastcoast in the lower playoff bracket with a score of 0:2 is a bright example of using this meme in real life. Analysts brought a balloon with copium on stage and were inhaling it to calm down after the elimination of the last hope of North America.
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This meme has gone beyond the gaming environment and is actively used in discussions of any other events in real life. For example, looking for excuses after a significant failure is also considered as taking a dose of copium.
When a meme replaces reality
The majority of people perceive jokes about copium just as jokes should be perceived, their purpose is to make you relax and laugh. Problems begin when people start to replace objective reality with copium.
A person should not begin to sacredly believe in some kind of justification or pseudo-arguments that aim to create a false opinion about the events that occurred. After this, facing reality leads to more frustration or even depression. But the majority of people on the Internet consider memes to be just memes that help to go through the lost series of Dota 2 or CS:GO matches with a smile on their faces.
Conclusion
The meme “copium” began forming in the second half of the 2010s but it has been used in its current state since 2020. The meme has become an essential part of modern culture and is used not only in esports and the video game industry.
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Maksym has been working at EGamersWorld since 2017. Joining the company during his first year at university, he worked as a translator until 2022. After that, Maksym began working as an editor. His main discipline is Dota 2, and over time, Maksym's responsibilities expanded to include CS:GO, CS2 and Valorant. Additionally, as an editor, he publishes various materials on gaming topics.