I finally found an article that relates to what I have been trying to find. The article starts off talking about a very popular and wealthy girl who decides to talk to some unpopular skater boys and loses her social ranking throughout the whole entire school. She went into a stage of anorexia trying to win her place back in the popular crowd, but has since found new friends. Although she still relates high school to “hell.” This is just an example of how fast a person’s reputation can be ruined in high school.
David Zinn, an adolescent psychiatrist at Chicago's Beacon Therapeutic Center, compares high school to an adult society of hierarchies. For years, adolescents have been judging and ranking their peers putting them into specific categories and ranks. This ranking is almost impossible to change. The only known change I have ever seen is when a popular person gets demoted, because their “friends” did this to them. Since studies show adolescents spend less and less time with their parents, these cliques are consuming who they are known to be, and who they really are.
This article suggests that jocks implement the rules, meaning they are at the top of the totem pole, which, I partially agree with. I have also seen athletes that are really good at a sport, but not popular, and do not become popular due to being so good at sports.
With all these cliques, the same types of outfits for these groups are worn virtually the same from coast to coast. The article also ends saying, “fitting in is a choice.” I do not believe this is true, because there is not two people that are exactly alike, and being someone you are not is not something anyone should have to do.
Adler, Jerry, et al. "The Truth About High School. (Cover story)." Newsweek 133.19 (1999): 56. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.
Adler, Jerry, et al. "The Truth About High School. (Cover story)." Newsweek 133.19 (1999): 56. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.
Hey Laura,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a good article that you read. I may read it for myself just because it seems interesting. I like how it related teenage cliques to an adult's social hierachy. It is sad what teenagers will do to get accepted by other people. What the article said about "fitting in is a choice" is very interesting. I will need to read the article to figure out how i feel about what it is saying.