Question

What is Emo to you? Nincompoops stay away. No Joke answers.

Answer 1

Emo is a subculture that popped up after or during the Post-Punk movement. While the punk movement highlighted a shift from following mainstream trends to the more independent artists producing content without almost no censorship from the major publishers that otherwise sign the A-list content creators/artists, post-punk and most other fallout cultures shifted their focus from anti-establishment to a sort of adjustment to cater to (or atleast a portion) of the mainstream by means of their iconic and sometimes idiosyncratic stylization choices be in face make-up or reluctance/inability to connect with the mainstream (either naturally or by sheer force of habit) so as to make their identity unique.
Though it may have its roots in music, people who identify themselves as emo (alongside goths and other similar subculture) were often victims of failed social interactions with the rest of society owing either to their own ineptitude when it comes to connecting with other people or otherwise. Their wishes to extend themselves to others may not manifest in their actions or works but what I personally understand is that their compulsive need to accessorize and use facepaint and often sticking to certain palettes of coloured clothing is more or less a cry for help and attention (not to be confused with the negative connotations attached to attention seeking) so as to reunite with or at least be recognized as a part of society. Probably their most important aspect is that emos are extremely emotional (as is evident from the name) as quite a few individuals have been observed to vehemently blame themselves for the smallest shortcomings or failures and inflict self-harm upon themselves mostly in the form of cuts... And a portion of the subculture often contemplate suicide and need professional psychological/psychiatric help as some have reportedly claimed that they inflict self-harm and contemplate suicide as they are unable to feel anything (ironic how the subculture is named for being overly emotional) and undergo such acts upon themselves to feel something, anything once again. I personally believe that what they really need is someone to talk to :)

These are but personal views that I have on emo cuclture and may not be as accurate as a professional psychological study might provide. I also do not hold condescending views on the members of the Emo subculture and never meant any harm in either my words or actions to them. Anything offensive you might find in this is simply incidental, I assure you and I would promptly apologize and correct it upon request. I hope this is what you needed. Have a great weekend, friend : )