Why are so many children "Emo" today?

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Giggly_Giraffe

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I never heard the term until I taught catechism … Now my eyes are open to so many kids who are “Emo” and at first glance they seem to have it all.
 
What is emo? My children are in their early twenties and were all over “emo” in their teens. I could never figure out what “emo” was.
 
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The stereotype for a kid(13-19) who has a lower tolerance for sad emotions, and feels inadiquet of their own personal worth(feels like they arent good enough). Many emos feel so depressed that they resort to cutting to themselves. Emo boys often weird girls pants and dye their hair black, with a pyrimid spiked belt, and tight tee shirts(usualy black). It is known that emos have a kind of rule that 2/5 of their face must be covered by hair, although it is actualy a subconscious feeling of wanting to cover up their sadness(eyes).
She’s too good for me.
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What is the point of my life?
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I hate everything.
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urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=emo%20kids
 
qui_est_ce said:
We used to call that Goth.
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No, it’s somewhat similar, but not the same. Goth does not usually involve cutting; emo does. Emo is just short for “emotional,” as in “over-emotional.” They can be mopey, depressed, withdrawn, sad, lonely, etc. For some, it’s just an act - for others, the style reflects their inner turmoil. And for some, they just look good in skinny jeans, black hair, and guyliner. 😉

Here is a very typical emo boy look.

http://www.emo-styles.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/emo-boy-fashion-330x440.jpg

It’s not just about the style, but the bands they listen to, with depressing/ugly/horrible lyrics. The style called “screamo” really sounds like something the devil came up with.

Emo

If I could go back and do something different I would keep that **** out of my son’s hands. The music sent him into a terrible spiral and I think it’s really a bad influence on teens.
 
I thought “emo” meant emotional – all kids get emotional during their teenage years to a greater or lesser extent; this is not news, but probably a “suggestion” by popular culture to get more people into therapist’s offices (and more kids on psychotropic meds, sadly) 😦
 
TheRealJuliane said:
First world problems.
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“The characteristic of Pains and Pleasures is that they are unmistakably real, and therefore, as far as they go, give the man who feels them a touchstone of reality. Thus if you had been trying to damn your man by the Romantic method - by making him a kind of Childe Harold or Werther submerged in self-pity for imaginary distresses - you would try to protect him at all costs from any real pain; because, of course, five minutes’ genuine toothache would reveal the romantic sorrows for the nonsense they were and unmask your whole stratagem.”

–Letter #13, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis

This is precisely the method we could expect the devil to use on a young person who has been fortunate enough to avoid true childhood suffering, and also that young person who has only been subjected to emotional suffering–I am referring to absentee parents, shallow friends, and/or a lack of some meaningful contribution to make to those around him or her–while being surrounded by physical ease and access to unearned wealth.

These kids may actually be contending with real emotional pain, but I think they’re also contending, unknowingly or not, with temptation to cope with their pain (whether real or imagined) in a self-centered way, a way that will draw them away from the works and relationships that might actually be a balm to their real inner hurts.
 
Giggly_Giraffe said:
I never heard the term until I taught catechism … Now my eyes are open to so many kids who are “Emo” and at first glance they seem to have it all.
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Most grow out of the phase. Most aren’t actually “emo” if they are telling you they are “emo”. Not every kid that is “emo” cuts themselves, some kids that cut aren’t even in this group.

For some its just a look and the music, for others its an actual identity and they get lost. I would say just from appearances with my daughter’s classmates, the ones that are really “emo” are NOT going to any kind of faith/youth group or religious formation class. Most don’t have any adult in their life that seems to really care about their welfare, again I’m talking about the kids that are truly immerse in this stereotype. The other kids that are “emo” by term only, seem to be very intelligent, very sweet and very considerate.

Its not easy being a teenager these days. They are up against so much more than I ever was when I was their age.

I would hope though that you see past the image for most of these kids and are a concerned adult for the ones that are truly troubled.
 
Is this still a thing? I thought the fad went away after people around my age left high school.

I’ve always said though that today’s 20-something “hipsters” are just yesterday’s emo kids who were forced to grow up.
 
qui_est_ce said:
My niece dresses like this and so does her boyfriend. Now I know what you mean. They think they are artistic and free thinkers. :rolleyes:
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There are actually a lot of bright kids who go in for this. I think it is like what happens when you try to keep a border collie as an apartment dog. Some kids need something real to do, and they get cynical when everything in their life is kept on a trivial level, even if that is their own doing.

Others just like to tweak their parents. There is that in every generation, too. I do think that not getting to work alongside your dad breeds something of a lack of appreciation for the work he does, but even some of the farming and ranching kids go through a “I’m too smart for this” or a “let’s stir this place up a bit” phase!

Still, you have to admit that James Dean was a much cooler-looking rebel that the guy you pictured! I don’t know, it is a somehow effeminate rebellion.
 
Because it’s a fad, and kids love fads. “Gotta fit or I uh…won’t fit in” and all. Every generation had their weird cringe worthy style.
 
EasterJoy said:
There are actually a lot of bright kids who go in for this. I think it is like what happens when you try to keep a border collie as an apartment dog. Some kids need something real to do, and they get cynical when everything in their life is kept on a trivial level, even if that is their own doing.
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You said that very well. My niece is very bright and has a full post-grad scholarship in the art department of a major university here in St. Louis.
 
qui_est_ce said:
You said that very well. My niece is very bright and has a full post-grad scholarship in the art department of a major university here in St. Louis.
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Well, you have to look the part as an artist. 😉 You can’t look conventional, after all - people expect that artists are going to be out of the mainstream, weird, strange, odd, etc.

The kids who look best in this fashion, IMO, are Asian, especially Vietnamese. They are skinny, their hair is black without being died, and somehow, the look just fits them. They look GOOD in skinny jeans.
 
Rhubarb said:
Because it’s a fad, and kids love fads. “Gotta fit or I uh…won’t fit in” and all. Every generation had their weird cringe worthy style.
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Yeah, I remember ours – greased hair and pegged pants.

In general, I support every generation’s right to make themselves look in such a way that 40 years from now they will look at pictures of themselves at 16 and say, “I can’t BELIEVE I made myself look like THAT on PURPOSE!!!” :bigyikes:
 
My mom was out finding jobs for her kids as soon as they turned 14 (odd jobs earlier). No time for Emo then. Maybe they just need a job.
 
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