Blog 6

I appreciate both of these articles. I feel that most people would have observations that support these ideas, but I haven’t yet read of any research that has data to support addresses the result of being popular at a young age. I agree that middle and high school students have a huge focus on social interactions and a lot of students hope to achieve popularity. I view popularity differently now from when I was a middle school student. Now, I generally dislike the behaviors and attitudes I see in typical popular students. However, I usually don’t go as far as to consider their motives for popularity or even the effects that pseudomature behavior will have in ten years. I see now that popular students may have an intense need for acceptance that directs them to seek popularity and participate in more risks. These behaviors may seem “cool’ but really damage their social development and possibly set them up for a hard reality out of high school if they continue to view popularity as success or acceptance.

I wonder, how do we teach students at this age to seek appropriate social behavior such as being a supportive, loyal friend, or to work hard and develop responsibility? This behavior isn’t as fun and dramatic, but will benefit our students more than being popular.

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