Popularity

Take a look around. A good look around. Look around to find them, because you will. Somewhere, in every school there is always that group. The boys that hang out with those girls, and those girls that hang out with those boys. But not just any boys and girls. The boys and girls that deem themselves higher than all else. The girls with layered makeup, and the boys puffing out their chest. Boys hitting one another and girls giggling foolishly. Because they will be there. This is the social segregation. The popularity division.

The usual commotion began as everyone came down to lunch. Everyone went to their normal places ny for one boy who stood, playing around the long table in the centre of the cafe. A Group of boys walked by looking at this mere ‘peasant’ in their eyes. Laughing loudly they gave him a look of disgust, and walked off.

After research, interesting facts have been revealed that only 2 in 10 people seem to deem themselves popular. That means 80% of grade 8 students, deem themselves as being cool and interesting. This has illustrated alarming information on children today, as self esteem between both boys and girls has dropped dramatically. ‘Hanging out in the Plaza’, A source wishing to remain anonymous tells us, ‘as well as being cool and being in a big group’, ‘caring more about just your friends and peoples opinions about you than anything else’, This evidence here is significant because of what society themselves have deemed ‘popular kids’. This not only tells us about people who themselves don’t hang out of the plaza and how they think of themselves as kids who aren’t that cool or even ‘outcasts’. This however is a stupid analogy of how someone ‘who hangs out in the plaza’ or ‘is always is in a big group’ is somehow know to everyone else as a popular kid.

Interesting facts can now be revealed about self confidence in boys. In a recent survey only 3 in 10 boys are happy with the image that they think that they present, an interesting coralition to the fact that only 5 in 10 boys seem confident around the other gender. It seems as times have changed that long gone are just female insecurities.

You might be interesting to know about another fact, which unearthed interesting information about the amount of time boys spend in front of a mirror each morning. 2 Minutes? 5 Minutes? 10 minutes turned out to be the average time spent in front of a mirror, that might not seem like a lot but times that by 7. 70 Minutes each week spent in front of a mirror just staring at themselves unconsciously ‘fixing’ themselves.

Social pressure is also a sad thing that relates to how people change. There is always that pressure that is put on you by others, A pressure that grow’s and grow’s varying with the matter. Like a disease, It spreads engulfing you in the need to do what you have been pressured into.

A great example of this pressure is asking someone out. You yourself might not really want to, but remember? It’s not what we want anymore. Its what they want. Its not really like you have a choice either, to be perfectly honest. You do and everyones happy, however if you back down you're looked down upon, and your ‘levels’ just drop like the NASDAQ.

In all schools around the world there is always a divide. A segregation between many similar to Apartheid that divides between different people who deem themselves more popular than others. First lets talk about the word, What does Popular even mean? The dictionary defines it as people who are admired by many people or a particular group. But why? Why does this mean you are different from others? Being deemed popular or trying to get to that stage changes so much about who you really are, From where you hang out to your dress sense, to how do you things just regularly. You become a different person under the influence of this social pressure.
Not only does it change your physical self but it undermines your personality and who YOU truly are. Its not about what you want anymore or what you do. Its about what the people want.

Amongst other things, one of the things that ‘Popularity’ does change is what society deems you should be good at. Passions now should be something masculine, cool rather than something that you enjoy. An unconfirmed source tells us ‘Something that I am really passionate about is Dance. But I have been bullied about this in the past. Its not good enough, its Macho. Its not what everyone else wants to see. I tried to get into something else, Football, Rugby, Tennis. None of them I really enjoyed, It was Dance that was my passion.

These people get bullied over nothing. They get bullied over fitting into society.
Those football players, those rugby Jocks, those kids are the cool ones. Making the team, well that justs your levels rocketing like product shares of apple when the first iPhone came out.

If there is one thing that you do after reading this, is just be prepared, be wary that their are all these different people in the world out there. Be prepared to accept that you might not be one of them and you don’t necessarily need to try to be one of them. It might sound old, ‘Be Yourself’, But that is the best advice you can get. Don’t change yourself for others. These people might not necessarily be bad, but what they do do is create an influenza in society, where everyone is engulfed in this need to become great.