Really

There is a phenomonon happening that is effecting the way society relates to one another.  Everyone is doing it.   I call it "word exaggeration".  Word exaggeration is similiar to the buzz word phenomonon, but it has much more personality and is done with alot more flair.  I don't know how or when word exaggeration started, but here is a list of some of the more popular words:

• dude
• hellooo (Seinfeld episode)
• like (fascination that started with like teenagers)
• b-bye ( I think this might be from Saturday Night Live, but I'm not sure)

I think you get my drift.  The word that has most recently fallen victim to word exaggeration is really.   This became apparent to me while vacationing with a friend last week.  He reacted to situations like being cut off by a fellow driver and his cell phone breaking, by exclaiming "really".  In order to get it right it has to be expressed as a statement not a question.  Even the flight attendant on the airplane blurted out a "really", after a passenger accidentally hit the call button instead of the light switch.  I hear that there is also a commercial that features this latest trend in word exaggeration.