Why do people try to be popular in highschool?

Question

...when they should be focusing on getting good grades,getting into college,studying, etc. rather than partying,drinking,doing drugs. do they think about the future at all? just curious.

Answer 1

they want to be noticed, they want attention every time they turn a corner in the hallways. they just want to be the center of attention.

Answer 2

okay well highschool is time to  have fun. once you graduate your like an adult and now you have to take care of yourself. ofcoarse we care about our future, and not all popular ppl do drugs, or drink. partying is a way for us to get outta our stressed out lives and live a little. idk if your younger, than you'll understand when you get there, and if your older, well it is what it is.

Answer 3

i'm going into high school this year btw = ]

but it depends on each person.

i want to party, but stay away from drinking or drugs.

i think you should balance them out, or else u'll end up being a good-for-nothing loser.

they want to become popular so they can feel loved and get all the hot guys/girls, no one likes feeling alone and have a small group of friends(IMO)

funny thing is when ur old, no one knows who was the hot granny/grampa = P

Answer 4

It has a lot to do with intelligence and forward thinking. If you care a lot about what people think or are obsessed with it, then you're going to be distracted by things that don't matter, such as who's dating whom, designer clothes or being popular. In the end, none of those things matter. All that matters is that you are true to yourself and strive to reach your dreams. No one else is going to take care of you except for yourself.

Answer 5

idk.......but I am popular and I have a 3.6 GPA and I do go to parties and stuff but I dont drink and do drugs.

Answer 6

I guess they just want to be liked and stuff. I think it's sort of like being famous, just a smaller version. Personally, I think it's really stupid that people get all caught up in drugs and stuff, and it's not worth it. I'm still in High School and I plan not do those things, because I have some things to accomplish. :)

Answer 7

Yes some do. People only try to be popular because the don't want to be left out, or "weird", people want to blend in and not stick out. Be yourself no matter who it is, this will always work out

Answer 8

Mostly out of insecurity.  Most teens are insecure about themselves and crave the approval of their peers to feel better about themselves.  Its a self esteem booster.

If your going to make mistakes, its best to make them when your young cause mistakes as an adult can REALLY cost you.  And honestly, once your not in high school, NO ONE cares what you did in high school and you can still make a great living for yourself and graduate from college and beyond even if you didn't get good grades in high school like my bf, who at 25 is going to top the year with a 100k income and he nearly droppout and got held back in high school.  He did many "stupid" things in high school like drinking and driving while trying to fit in and got horrible grades because high school just didn't intrest him.  But once he got to community college everything just made more sense and was more intresting so he got much better grades, transfered to a university and is due to graduate in the next year while he's working full time in a director's roll at a mid-sized company.

Point being?  High school won't make or break you.

Answer 9

I don't party, drink, or do drugs (I'll be a senior this fall)

But my main focus isn't my grades and getting into college.

Yeah, I take my grades seriously, but my main focus is my extracrurriculars like my job, theatre, and yearbook.  I have my boyfriend, best friends, and family.  They are my priority. I want to have fun and enjoy high school, not spend it stressing about college.  I can do plenty of that once I'm there

Answer 10

because popular kids usually have the most fun and they want to make the best out of their high school experience. they probably don't think about their future, they are more worried about being remembered as the popular one

Answer 11

I agree with you. They should be focused on those things.

Sadly it is in human nature to want to be accepted. High school students mostly do not know what they want out of life and are clueless to how harsh the real world is, therefore they do not focus to much on school. They think that finding their place in the world involves finding the people to 'hang out with' because they think that those people define them.

Answer 12

your question is confusing, being popular means you have to do drugs and drinking and going to parties? I think people like to do these things without the thought of being popular.

Answer 13

your right about this all but that doesn't mean that a person is trying to be cool they might have a lot of family and personal issues your not aware of. who really cares about them? are you them? your gonna get good grades and try to get into the college of your choice right? you can be popular and still do all this. you have to learn to balance your life no matter what your age is. my biggest regret is not taking high school so serious because believe it or not i know this is going to sound so lame and been said before but really i miss high school its a lot less stressful then college. sure in college your have fun and if you try ur best and do ur work then you should be fine but in order to get into college you have to do good in high school. so try your best and do your work because if them "popular" people don't do their work and balance their life they may get into a bad college or no college at all and really think about it college gives you tons of new freedoms and so if you work hard your get where you wanna be in life. sometimes others just needs time to grow up we all make mistakes and you may be a smart young lady but we all make mistakes because we are human so dont judge them so much dont even worry about them just do you.  

Answer 14

Mostly because they wanna fit it, just because everyone else does it thats what they think they should do, so they do. I don't think anyone really wants to do it though.

Answer 15

to not feel lonely, depressed, and to make people that didn't think anything of them to liking them......or to get a girl...............im a loner im my school and im happy with it, they think im a houndred percent murderer, a 100!!!??? come on! 45 at least

Answer 16

some people just live to have fun. They try to live life to the fullest, and make every day rememberable.

When you look back at your life, you will remember the fun times..not the studying. Its not about being "popular"...its about having fun.

But by all means, getting good grades is important.

You just need to find a good balance..

Answer 17

I think that both aspects are important. While you are in school (and in college as well), you are supposed to develop your intellectual skills as well as your social skills. The trick is to find the right balance, and every person has to decide for himself or herself where that balance lies. And by the way, it would be sad if "being popular" were identical with doing drugs and drinking.

So I would say, if you focus mainly on your studies you should keep doing so and not get distracted by what others do; but treat yourself to a party or an outing with your friends now and again.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 18

because adolescents are very self absorbed.  its biology.  they tend to place a greater importance on what people think of them then a child or adult would.  And most teenagers havt developed the abiltity to see into the future and think about the consequences of what they do.

and these days its not cool to be intelligent, its cool to be a s**t or to drink and do drugs.

Answer 19

Because people give in to peer pressure, thinking everyone will hate them if they don't fall into peer pressure, doing drugs, acting like a f*g, etc.

They don't realize you need good grades to survive in life, and you have only a smaaaaaaaaallllll chance to survive without the grades and education.

I mean, many people do think about the future, but fall into pressure.

Answer 20

well some like to live in the present. 'Live life to the fullest'"

but sometimes it isn't a good way to live.  yes you get more out of your youth, but they will probably be the ones flipping your burgers at your local burger place.

Answer 21

i dont think all popular kids act the 2nd wayy....

im pretty popularr...everybody knows me...but then again i go to a high school where everybdoy lives in about a mile radius...and all i do is worry about getting into college..but besides me..other popular kids most likely only act that way to impress theyre friends

Answer 22

Humans are pack animals. Someone is always vying for the alpha position.

Answer 23

Well, popular doesn't mean doing drugs and such.  Let me ask you this, Why wouldn't you want to liked by people?  I know a lot of well liked people who got good grades and went to great colleges

Answer 24

A lot of people in high school are insecure, and need to be popular to feel good. Or they just want attention, good or bad.

Answer 25

i don't think they try unless they're really desperate...and why are you worried about it? just let people do what they want to do

Answer 26

yes even though getting good grades and a good job and hetting into a good college does bring joy its so much easier to drink and do drugs that brig faster gratification

Answer 27

They all live for the moment and try to meet other peoples expectations instead of doing what's right like studying, etc.

Answer 28

well you should have a balance, you don't want to neglect your social life or your academic life. And if you wonder why some people don't care it may have something to do with how bad most of the highschool curriculum is

Answer 29

hm you seem like you're in high school. i'm like in college -18- :D but i remember high school it's cause a lot of people are like umm doing their human interactions for the first time. like they are so neww and so they really care about what people think and they wanna do things to fit in. but everyone has they're own reason.. like seriously it will be the only time in your life to actually play around cause after that you have a lot of responsibility. cause i mean who the h**l wants to pay a UC to get a AA?!?! wtf unless you're rich right, so like you go to a CC and once you do that everything you did in high school DOES NOT MATTER... so it was those words that made me just ENJOY my HS years..well i heard that in soph. but yeah and my first semester i took 15 units and got STRAIGHT A's so if you're in hs don't be scared just have fun cause after that you will be STUCK in responsibility and problems... mostly with money lol.

Answer 30

i am not in high school

i am done done done

ahem..a few years back :)

i think that high school is a time of transition

people are starting to become adults, and starting to have new bodies (thanks to puberty!)

sooo i think that many people associate being popular with having lots of friends, with being WORTHY of having lots of friends

so it's an esteem thing for some folks

hope that helps

Answer 31

for some reason, the jocks and popular chicks at my school are so sure of what their going to be,

the jocks think their going to become a football player and famous without knowing what to fall back on if that dream doesn't come true, same goes for those rock star wanna-bes i see in my math class.

the thing is, their just so sure of themselves.