HARDEEP MATHARU Saturday 01 August 2015
Being the “cool kid” might seem ideal at school but it can land you in difficulties later on in life, according to a new study.
The work, “Whatever Happened to the Cool Kids?”, was published in the journal Child Development by researchers at the University of Virginia, and looked at the lives of more than 180 teenagers in America over a decade.
But the results might not be to the liking of those who want to rule the roost at their schools.
According to the study, teenagers who tried to act cool and were popular during their younger years had a higher risk of experiencing problems as adults, including alcohol and drug abuse, and becoming involved in crime.
So ‘cool teens’ – made popular in films by characters such as James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and Rachel McAdams inMean Girls – may go on to lose out.
Are the cool girls in school the ones who are almost naked?
James Dean’s character in Rebel Without a Cause (which I happen to have watched again only a month ago) is a sympathetic character who looks out for the underdog. It’s his parents who are portrayed as creeps.
I’ll bet the author was thinking of Marlon Brando in The Wild One.
Actually, the early middle school bloomers are done by high school.