Being popular is something many people, especially high school students, strive to be. High school students often define popularity by social influence, recognition, and fitting in with their peers. Popular students are typically known, have a large group of friends, and are involved in various school activities like sports, clubs, and social status. Being popular is caused by having a certain style, personality, or confidence that attracts others. However, popularity can be temporary and is sometimes based on superficial qualities, such as how someone looks or dresses, rather than genuine connections with others.
The stereotype of a popular person is someone who people like, talks to many people, and has a lot of friends. But what specifically makes someone fall into this stereotype and have people drawn to them?
High school students have different opinions about what they believe makes somebody popular. Starting with personality aspects, some students say that they believe that a popular person is somebody who is welcoming and nice to everyone, and who is funny and makes people laugh.
Olivian Erskine, freshman, said, “I feel like popular people are people who are nice to everyone and talk to everyone. They try to get to know people they don’t usually talk to and have an open, welcoming energy… They also seem to be funny and try to get people to laugh.”
On the contrary, other students think that the personality of someone who is popular is the complete opposite. They believe that people who seem to be popular are mean, unwelcoming, and cliquey.
Harper Linthicum, sophomore, said, “A lot of popular people seem to be kind of mean and just stick to their own friends. They are particular on who they talk to and clingy to that group, making them not very inclusive.”
These two opinions are opposite answers to the same question of what personality traits make someone popular. People’s opinion on this question differs because of many reasons, such as their own social status and their experience with people who they view as popular.
Another aspect of what makes someone popular is how they portray themselves — how they dress, what makeup they wear, and how they do or have their hair. Popular people tend to be trendsetters with what they wear and influence other people around them.
“People who are popular usually wear clothing from popular brands like Lululemon or White Fox. They wear clothing that’s trending and tends to be pretty expensive… A lot of the time I feel like if someones popular, they will start wearing something, and people will start to wear the same thing,” said Erskine.
Some people believe that popular people wear expensive, high quality clothing to show a certain status. They wear these items all the time and never let themselves look bad.
Josh Hamre, sophomore, said, “Popular people tend to wear more expensive, designer clothing to show off wealth and status, socially and economically… They try to stand out instead of blending in. They never let themselves go outside and be seen by people looking badly. They always make themselves look presentable.”
Stereotypically, a popular girl is on the cheer team and a popular boy is on the football team. This stereotype is seen in many movies and TV shows. An important aspect of what makes somebody popular is a person’s extracurriculars or activities they participate in.
A lot of students believe that popular people play some sort of sport and are athletic. They work well with others and use that with their teammates.
“People who are considered popular usually play a sport or multiple sports and are good at the sport they play,” said Eryn Andruchowitz, sophomore.
Defining popularity and understanding its meaning to high school students presents the question: Do students consider being popular important and something they want to achieve?
Linthicum said, “I think being popular isn’t really important overall in someone’s life because once high school is over and people begin their real lives, their status at high school and how popular someone was doesn’t matter at all… All that matters is if someone’s a good person and tries their best in what they do.”
Being popular can seem important while someone is in high school, but once someone is out of high school, it’s not important at all. People become so focused on themselves and what they want to do that impressing others and seeming cool isn’t a priority anymore.
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