Dear Kristi,

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about people being “emo.” As a huge fan of music, I know that emo is a genre of alternative music, but it seems to be being thrown around a lot and I wasn’t sure if there is a real definition of its meaning. I am aware, however, that emo is not usually being used to refer to people who simply enjoy emo music. Who are these emo people and how can you tell if someone close to you has gone emo?

—Concerned Citizen

Dear Citizen,

Do not fret, for I am an expert on this new age breed of emo people. This reference in no way is related to the genre of music which typically features a band of guys pouring their emotions out through their microphones.

There are some people who might call a boy who wears super tight pants and writes poetry emo, but that is not the case. He is simply comfortable with his body and likes to express his emotions. A girl who dyes her hair bright pink and wears spikes every day is not emo, she is just outgoing.

The new emo is an attitude, not a look. Emo people can be anyone from your boss at Red Lobster to that pretty girl who sits in the corner of your world politics class. An emo person, going off of what this term has become in days of late, is a person who over exaggerates aspects of their life. A failed quiz might mean a severe plunge into an abyss of depression. A problem with a significant other means glaring at every passerby for four days straight. If an emo high school student’s mother is late picking them up from the mall on a Friday night, and they have to sit outside of Hot Topic for longer than desired, an emo rage is for sure about to go down. “My life sucks!” is generally a phrase that inspires someone to call the complainer emo. This emo phenomenon is taking over the nation.

In short, calling someone emo in this sense is usually in jest. It is a simple word to use on someone who is going on about how terrible their life is, when in fact it probably isn’t all bad. Everyone does that at some point, usually many times a week. If someone wants to accurately use the term emo, they should do research on the genre of music. Otherwise, it’s a way to pick on your friends when they complain about life’s crazy twists and turns. All in good fun.

— Kristi

No emo kids were harmed during the writing of this column.