By Jordan Taylor
In high school, there are many pressures to present yourself in a certain way to others. Depending on what group or clique you’re in, it can depend on the type of person you want to present yourself as. There are many different groups and people you can be a part of but all come with some pressure to be some way. Feeling like you fit in with a group can be just as important as academic or athletic success to some people. Cliques in high school are a big part of the experience and trying to find what kind of person you are and want to be, especially with the pressures of social media now.
How did cliques even come to be? Why is there so much pressure on high schoolers to be a part of a specific clique or group—to act and be a certain way to fit in? Cliques can often form early in high school, maybe even middle school if people have known each other that long. They become exclusive groups that are based often on social status or personalities and similar interests. Sometimes cliques can bring students a sense of belonging and identity. So, sometimes having a tight group where you all get along and enjoy similar things can be good. Not all cliques are negative, but they often leave people feeling excluded.
Social Media now has made cliques an even bigger trend. Social media has, in a way, brought more people to find and form new social circles online. All the different platforms like Instagram, Tiktok, and Snapchat have given students another way to find people they can relate to. It gives students and people an opportunity to interact with people they might not have if it weren’t for these platforms. Social media has also given the chance to people with not very popular interests or activities they like to be able to break the idea of “normal” and to be able to form a group or find people with similar interests.
On the other hand, social media has also made cliques worse by making groups or cliques more exclusive. People might feel more excluded by comparing themselves to what they see and then by not feeling good enough. This could cause some people to want to change themselves just to fit in or be something that they think would make them feel better about themselves.
Groups and cliques in the real world have evolved to offer many different kinds of people to surround yourself with. With the rise of social media also comes new opportunities to connect with people of similar interest, making it easier to find your community and your place within the world.
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