A clique is a small, exclusive group of people who share the same interests and do not readily allow others to join them. Cliques are formed when people have things in common. There are many reasons why teenagers join cliques, but one of the most prevalent is the need to fit in. Cliques are important because they allow kids freedom from their parents. Kids, especially teenagers, want to do things on their own and they can within these cliques. Peers support one another inside the group. If tragedy strikes, the members are typically the first ones to aid their friend and offer their help. Lastly, cliques help teenagers feel accepted in society. Often, adolescents feel as if they aren’t good enough and are constantly tearing themselves down. …show more content…
High school is where teenagers lose friends, and will stumble upon disappointment. Adolescents are often bullied in high school, too. They can be bullied for how they look, the kind of clothes they wear, who they hang out with, or the kind of grades they receive. In Rosalind Wiseman’s book “Queen Bees and Wannabees”, she did an exercise with a group of girls. In this exercise, she asked them to describe the characteristics and appearance of a girl with a high social status, and then describe a girl with a low social status. The girls listed the following characteristics for the girl of high social status: pretty, confident, hangs out with the right guys, nice on the outside, happy, money, thin, in control, popular, and athletic. They listed these characteristics for the girl of low social status: shy, fat, acne, too opinionated and cause oriented, and …show more content…
Wherever there were large groups of teenagers, they separated themselves into groups. When the Unwinds were in the warehouse waiting to be transported to Graveyard, Roland rose to power and recruited kids to be in his group, which would be the Popular clique in modern times. After Connor, Risa, and Lev picked up the baby, they went to a nearby school to escape the Juvey Cops. I’m sure there were cliques in that school, even though I have no evidence. Unless the cliques were abolished in the time frame Unwind was set, cliques would survive in some form. What would happen if the world didn’t have cliques? Without cliques, people would not be in segregated groups. All the humans would associate with one another and there wouldn’t be any divisions between types of different people. The boho/ free spirit types would be friends with the professional athletes. The members of high society would go for a walk in the park with the poor. Everyone could be united as one without
The stereotype commonly associated with bullying is indefinitely the “Queen Bee”. In playing this role, “Queen Bees” gain a sense of power over the other girls within the clique. They enjoy the fact that the others feel as though they must pay homage to them. However, “Queen Bees” lose a real sense of self, and become cynical of their position. Often, they wonder if people only speak to them as a result of their popularity or looks. The simple fact that they feel as though they must routinely exert their power over the others, proves that their actions are spurred from a place of loneliness.When they are able to control others, it proves to them that they are still better than everyone else. This pattern repeats, as they are constantly in need of reassurance, and surround themselves with people who will do so. Often the recipient of the bullying, are the “Targets”. Commonly meek and insecure, they provide the weakness that the “Queen Bees” need to prey upon. For instance, should a “Target” come to school wearing a new pair of shoes that a “Queen Bee” envies, the “Queen Bees” will incessantly call the “Targets” names and make fun of their shoes. This will eventually cause “Targets” to leave or feel so terribly that they will take the shoes off in hopes of the nonsense coming to a stop. This causes “Targets” to feel worthless and unvalued. As one can see, bullying is a terrible form of peer pressure in which both the administrator and recipient suffer negatively
Although each youth group as a whole is unique, the same types of people can be found within all of them. In most books and movies, there are the three teens that make up the main clique: the leader, the sidekick, and the romantic interest, as well as the uniform groups consisting of the nerds, the jocks, the artists, etc. Many of us might find these movie stereotypes difficult to identify with (though some are immensely accurate), but in my experience, a youth group wouldn’t be a youth group without these few key personalities to hold it together.
Children create peer groups to gain a sense of belonging and acceptance, alongside with socializing with others who have common interests, jobs, or social positions. At a young age, peer groups show children what is considered acceptable behavior around his or her peers and what is deemed unacceptable behavior. In certain social groups, there are role expectations that people have to be met. When in the peer group, often children will influence each other to engage in appropriate behaviors that can be seen as right or wrong.
Teenagers revolve around being socially active and being a part of the “In crowd”. Teens are usually part
Cliques and Outsiders The Emotional Trauma That is Fitting In Be afraid. Be very afraid. Wipe that goofy smile off your face. Whether you know it or not, that clawing, itching, quaking sensation seething beneath your skin is the feeling churning inside you every time someone of a superior clique comes rumbling down the halls, a contemptuous sneer playing on his lips. But whatever you do, keep that fear under wraps. You do not need to be shoved into your locker or called derisive names again. Cliques in high schools are a microcosm of a society dominated by hierarchies. Look around. It is hard to find one fully united school, devoid of the intricate social castes. In the wake of the now-infamous Columbine High School shooting, society was mercilessly slapped with the harsh
The differences between a club and a gang, are quite distinct, but it is the connotational differences between these two words which distinguishes one from the other. The New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary of the English Language defines a club as; "...an association of people with some common interest who meet periodically..." It defines a gang as "...a number of men or boys banding together, esp. lawlessly..." This definition is traditionally slanted toward applying to male youth, and stereotypical gangsters, from the Mafia to street criminals. Persons who often have a negative attitude toward youth see gangs. Often individuals form gangs out of fear and for the protection of their members whether they are the Bloods and Crips of Los Angeles or the Sharks and the Jets of "West Side Story." Gangs may not possess a set of formal written rules, but all of them have their own sets of customs or conditions. Gangs may or may not be facilitated in a branch of higher and lower members, mimicking a military model. Gangs often have a loosely defined set of goals, and are often involved in delinquent activities.
Identification with a peer group is a critical part of growing up because even though there is a mix between valuable and invaluable points, no one wants to be left with nobody to help them figure out how they fit in the world and get pass tough times. Peer pressure can have positive impacts and not so good but the postive are too valuable to overpass, leaning us over to conclude that classifying with a circle of close friends are a key factor when going into the real
...asons are for protection, for profit, to gain a family or friends, to join family or friends already associated with the gang, to gain means for something, or for retribution and power. A gang creates relationships or a feeling of family, and most important a new social bond filled with ties of attachment, commitment, beliefs, and involvement (Siegel 2012). It gives individuals, especially the younger ones, a hope for the future, a family dynamic, a form of means and income, and a place to create ties and bonds. Especially if their ties to conventional society are weak because they are not involved, they do not have many commitments in school or work, or they are not attached to his or her family or friends. Humans are social creatures, and this type of group allows humans to interact with people who have similar lifestyles, beliefs, values, needs, and experiences.
Imagine living in a world where almost everyone lived the same lifestyle. Same cars, styles, and personalities, almost everything was the same. There was a set social norm and if you were different, you might have been judged for the way you lived. You feel the need to change your lifestyle in order to fit in with the world’s “social norm”. There is a pressure from the people around you or the town/city that you live in. Now it is highly encouraged to be different amongst the rest of the people to stand out. However, before being “different”, many people felt the need to conform to society’s norm. In the books The Sun Also Rises and Babbitt, social conformity plays a huge role in their storylines. The term social conformity is a society or
A gang is a group of people who interact among themselves. Teen violence is contributed to these gangs. Most gangs claim neighborhoods as their territory and try to control everything inside that territory. This kind of antisocial behavior is a major problem in American Society.
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.
Social influence/peer groups were one of the dominant themes in my observations, survey, and literature. Social influence looks at how individual thoughts, actions and feelings are influenced by social groups (Aronson, 2010).The desire to be accepted and liked by others can lead to dangerous behavior. College life can be an overwhelming experience for first time college students and or transfer students as they struggle to manage class time and social activities in an attempt to fit-in in the new environment that they may not be used to. Students can experience too much anxiety and drop out of college or fall behind classes. Working at the Cambell Student Union information Center, I observed a great deal of students falling into this trap of social influence and peer pressure. A female student tripped as she was going up the stairs to Spot Coffee but did not fall. What appears to be a group of guys who are not popular (guys who are not very well known), were seating where popular students normally seat. The group of guys started laughing at the girl and stopped. One guy kept laughing, but it was obvious he was forcing the laughter as to purposely attract attention. He started making jokes about the girl and carrying on the laughter so he would appear to be funny. Another example, which portrays peer influence, involves parties over the weekend. Multiple students stated they were falling behind in classes on the grounds of their friends wanted to go out the night before and they did not want to seem/appear “lame” so they tagged along. The influence of a group is intensified by the person’s desire to be an accepted member of the peer group. To achieve this desire he tries to conform in everyday to the patterns approved by the grou...
A high school student cried as she recounted being tormented in middle school by her classmates. For some reason she was targeted as a “dog,” and day after day she had to walk the halls with kids barking at her. How did it stop? The girl said she stopped it. But how? She picked out another girl, someone worse off than herself, and started to call her dog. Then the others forgot about her. Then they barked at the other girl instead. Girls may be made of sugar and spice and everything nice, but on the inside, they are just plain mean. “Girls tease, insult, threaten, gossip maliciously, and play cruel games with their friends’ feelings and set up exclusive cliques and hierarchies in high schools.” (Omaha World Herald, 10A).
Adolescence is, for the most part, about fitting in. Most everybody wants friends and wants to feel like they are a part of a social group. Young childhoods are spent meeting new people and making friends that share your common interests. However, in the teenage years, it gets a lot more complicated. Some people will start to leave their old friends for newer, “cooler” ones, and start to wear new clothing to make themselves popular. Everyone wants to fit in, and some people will make more of an effort to do so than others. In middle school specifically, cliques and social groups start forming. This is the time when teens and pre-teens figure out who they are and start to fit in with their friends.
Teenagers become caught up with following peers, because the decision is made to become involved in experimental activities by choice. On the other hand, peer pressure in teens can allow mature growth in the student, because the individual can them become a leader within an environment in a positive manner. According to kidshealth.org, “Getting to know lots of different people-