Did you ever strive to be one of the cool kids? You know, the kids with the best hair, smile, clothes, makeup, most friends, and have been in the most relationships with people. Those kids that got into minor trouble for messing around and having a good time. Well, if you never were one like me that’s okay. Through my own experience being all the rage is not what it is cracked up to be. You probably received more good than harm by not being put in the “cool kids’’ crowd. Studies shown by Allen, Schad, Oudekerk, and Chango give us the insider of cool kids behavior and how at a young age your life can spiral down quickly. From the age of middle school to young adolescences we will see the rise and fall of cool kids. How did it all go wrong …show more content…
Allen, a psychology professor introduces us to the topic of cool kids with his research in child development. What intrigued Allen to study this specific topic is the plummet seen in social status amongst high school teens. High school is where we see those cool kids start struggling in many ways. Where as in middle school classmates viewed those cool kids with much jealousy and admiration. Many wished to be those cool kids because really all they wanted to do was fit in. Those key three or four years in transition from middle school to high school the cool kids start becoming the opposite of cool. Allen described this kind of behavior as pseudomature behavior. (Hoffman et al., 2014) Pseudomature behavior starts from middle school age to young adolescents. These ages vary from thirteen to twenty-three years old. Mainly having to do with cool kids previous minor mis behavior when young effect romantic involvement or any relationships as they get older. Always trying to impress others is not best and gets you into a cycle of carving to do more mature activates at a young age. When this behavior happens early on such as middle school, is predicted to have more of an negative effect on this person building relationships. (Hoffman et al., …show more content…
Having these negative characteristics about a person leaving them unfulfilled and as a result being drawn to things that will continue the cycle of not being fulfilled. Allen, Schad, Oudekerk, and Chango found an the increased effect of a young adult getting into drugs, alcohol, and more criminal like activates. They got into those activities because those people are looking for something that will fill that void. That vine is lack of self-confidence is planted all the way back in middle school can have effects on you when you grow older. Some things you cannot grow out of. They have to be dealt with. These results are the living proof of that (Hoffman et al.,
The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth is a book by Alexandra Robbins which summarizes the story of seven different teenagers that have many different problems, which many of todays teenagers also have. I found myself having many similarities to the teenagers in the story, for example, when with her group Whitney, the popular bitch, thinks “You didn't day that when we were alone, but now that you're in front of a group you do” (Robbins 21). I can relate to this because I feel as though many people are pressured to say or do things they normally wouldn't whenever they are with their group or ‘clique’. Robbins has this idea that the freaks and geeks, or “cafeteria fringe” will someday grow up and use what they are criticized for to become more successful than the other peopler people. She calls this the ‘Quirk Theory’ (Robbins page 11). This helped me to learn that right now, in high school, not being ‘popular’ may seem like the end of the world, but the reality of it is that after these four years, it wont even matter, but what will be important is how you learned to grow as a person and the true friendships that were made. This makes me want to focus more on my education and learning to grow as a person instead of focusing on how many friends I have or who I sit with at lunch, because truthfully it wont matter once high school is over.
In “Tweens: Ten Going on Sixteen,” Kay S. Hymowitz points out the fact that in modern society kids mature too early, creating a negative trend called tween phenomenon; it occurs when kids become teenagers at a young age and skip the preadolescence period. According to Hymowitz, the evidence presents a troubling picture, tweens are too concerned with the way they look, are involved in criminal activities, are having sex, and are doing drugs and alcohol. The author concludes that the causes of the negative trends are complex, and I believe that she states a reasonable case that should be considered by parents, educators, and psychologists. Without a doubt, the three most negative behavioral trends of many tweens are their need for attention,
The poem, We Real Cool, by Gwendolyn Brooks speaks through the voice of a young clique who believes it is “real cool.” Using slang and simple language to depict the teenage voice in first person, Brooks’s narrators explain that they left school to stay out together late at night, hanging around pool halls, drinking, causing trouble, and meeting girls. Their lifestyle, though, will ultimately lead them to die at a young age. But, despite an early death, the narrator expresses that they are “real cool” because of this risky routine. Through her poem, Brooks’s shows the ironic consequence of acting “cool”: it leads to death.
In many high schools, there is an unspoken social order amongst peer groups; teenagers are either included in the popular group or the unpopular group. These social standings are determined by the popular group whether they will accept certain people based on shared interests and values but mainly on appearance. For example, some groups may isolate a student who does not have clothing considered attractive enough. Teenagers belonging to the popular clique label individuals as outcasts who do not fit the clique’s standards of a perfect appearance. This repression can cause a build up of anger if an outcast seeks to be accepted into that popular group.
When life becomes overwhelming during adolescence, a child’s first response is to withdraw from the confinement of what is considered socially correct. Individuality then replaces the desire to meet social expectations, and thus the spiral into social non-conformity begins. During the course of Susanna’s high school career, she is different from the other kids. Susanna:
As preteens and teens push for increasing independence from their parents, they tend to turn to their peers for guidance, acceptance, and security. For those who are low in self-esteem and confidence, their safety lies in fitting in and having a place to belong. Most people find a group in which they connect with in a healthy way while others make their way in cliques that give them security but at the price of their own values and individuality. The movie Mean Girls portrays how high school female social cliques operate and the effect they can have on girls. I will argue how if one doesn’t have a strong sense of self-identity, the opinions of others will become their identity.
Conformity means a change in one’s behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people. As a teenager, the pressure to conform to the societal “norm” plays a major role in shaping one’s character. Whether this means doing what social groups want or expect you to do or changing who you are to fit in. During class, we watched films such as Mean Girls, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and The Breakfast Club which demonstrate how the pressure to conform into society can change who you are. In the movies we have seen, conformity was most common during high school.
Is adolescence really about fitting in or not standing out? Do you have any responsibility to those students who do not fit in? Do you hear that? Hush, and listen closely. Do you hear it now? The cries for help of the kids who don’t fit in with the crowd. The cries aren’t always loud. Sometimes they don’t make a sound. Stop and listen to them. Take responsibility for those kids and stand up for those kids who won’t stand up for themselves.
When being cool you can see it as being socially constructed (Waren, 2014). Most people see cool as not being an object but just as seeing it as a word and self-confidence. Once one feel they are cool their self-esteem goes up and they find more self-control of how they life should be played out. The audience don’t have to be mean or break the rules to be cool there are many other things like helping out people in need or doing things you way without people telling you how things should be done. Once the readers can live their life how they want to and make up their own rules then that makes a person one step closer to being in the category
When I found out I qualified to be a candidate for the NJHS, I knew I had to take this chance. This group is made up of people who depict leadership, character, citizenship, academic success, and service and I would love to join. These characteristics wouldn't just be valuable for a candidate to have, but for everyone to have to exceed in life. If I were to be in the National Junior Honor Society, it would give me an opportunity to ameliorate my future and motivate me to do better.
Adolescent years are a time period in a human beings life where we search for a place that we are most comfortable. It is a time where we try to find friends with similar interests and those who will easily accept us for who we are. Once we are accepted by those friends, we tend to do more things with hopes of getting approval from “the group.” Trying to fit in during adolescence is a significant factor for self-motivation because it determines the level of being accepted and popularity amongst our peers. Through our year of adolescence we experiment and try to discover oneself as a person, but we also find what our strongest traits are that are used in order to be accepted, or to feel more popular. Popularity is defined as a state of being liked or accepted by a group of people (cite). As the group of people gets larger, so does that person’s popularity. For some people, popularity may come easy due to their charisma or looks, but there are those children who feel lonely due to their lack of popularity.
In addition to playing difficult games, children start to become part of a social world. School is age graded, meaning that students are placed in grades based on their age. Children tend to only talk to those in their grade. Children in the same age tend to form their own social status. It is in this social aspect of middle childhood where popularity comes...
As young girl with big dreams I imagined my senior year of high school to be one of the best years of my life. I imagined going to homecoming with all of my friends, being the captain of the varsity soccer and cheerleading teams, going to Friday night football games, going to Prom with my perfect date, and going on a senior trip with all of my best friends. I never imagined my senior year to be the way that it is. I am the new kid.
Our young adults today, are bombarded with numerous challenges. What can you do to help them encounter these obstacles and come up shining on the other side? What factors contribute to efficaciously disabling the ample hurdles that are thrown at our young adults today? Let’s discover together some of these life trials that many young adults meet today. More specifically, we will look into economic challenges, the peril of not having an established support network, and even the potential risks of not following God and how this can adversely affect how out young adults respond when faced with challenges.
However not everyone is as fortunate to be socially popular with tons of friends. And with this comes social discrimination, a higher issue for teens, but that doesn’t leave adults out of the picture. For example in schools, we all either hate or love the popular kids, and/or love or hate the socially awkward kids. But purpose of the situation is that they don’t get along with each other. Also since they don’t get along, it causes drama, and even fights in school leaving a school with no peace. Many of these social discrimination conflicts can lead to school kids being bullied, for who they are and what they like. Most of these conflicts usually end in pain by either the popular kid and/or socially awkward one. They could be going through a rough time with family, health, etc. As for adults, they are just known to be grown children, because just like kids, teens, adolescents, parents will go against each other worse than kids. Humans are always trying to be on top of the food chain, a.k.a. the social ladder. But when things aren’t going their way, it can lead to an uproar that doesn’t point in the direction of