I wasn’t cool in high school. Not that I was weird or anything, I was just MAD awkward and wore “uncool” clothes because I couldn’t bring myself to blow $40 on a polo from Abercrombie & Fitch. I had my little group of also not-cool friends, and we were happy being invisible and playing video games in my basement. However, according to this study, the “cool kids” from high school are more likely to be losers in their 20’s.
“The researchers found teens who engaged in, let’s say, “Mean Girls” behaviors — like making a point to hang out with popular kids, rebelling and getting a quick start on their romantic lives — were more likely to lose popularity in their 20s, while being more prone to relationship problems, drugs and criminal behavior…once the “cool” teens became adults, they were 40 percent more likely to use drugs and alcohol and had a 22 percent greater chance of having run-ins with the law.”
Via WFTV
Not that Facebook is any sort of reliable scientific source, but my newsfeed totally confirms this. There’s a huge chunk of “cool kids” from my high school that work as bartenders and still live at home with their parents, which would be okay if they were in the process of doing something with their lives. There’s one kid who’s on his way to becoming a professional golfer, but by “on his way” I mean he blows up my feed with statuses and pictures of himself at a driving range with the hashtag “#ProSwing” on every photo. Winning.
Of course, this begs the question of why kids turn into losers.
“Allen speculates that as time went on these teens needed a bigger fix or “more and more extreme behaviors to try to appear cool.” Kind of equating “coolness” to a drug in its own right…and parents also shouldn’t worry if their child is a loner at an early age because popularity then isn’t really all it’s cracked up to be.”
You hear that? It’s better off to have spawned the booger-picking weirdo that eats the paste during art class than the head cheerleader with the perky rack. Personally, I’d rather have a temporary loser than have my kid eating hot pockets in my basement for the rest of my life. But maybe that’s just me.
[H/T WFTV]