In today’s society, it can be very difficult to be an adolescent and not develop or fall under a clique. According to Study.com, Cliques are a small, select group of people that have a lot in common and feel connected to one another. For adolescents, they usually first develop in school. This is because children spend most of their day in school. The only people to socialize with is other students. Cliques form because there is something that they bond over. Like sports, cars, and games. However, cliques can be a good and bad thing. Cliques are mostly thought of through a negative perspective because they are known to shut people out and make them feel bad. Cliques can be good in the sense that it is a group filled with people who like the same things as you do. It can be beneficial because you’ll be able to hang out with people and do things that you want to do because of the common interests. On the other hand, Cliques can be bad if one is not a part of one and or wants to be in a certain one. In this paper, we will discuss the benefits and disadvantages to cliques.
Even though cliques are thought of as bad or with a negative spin on them, they can actually be beneficial as well. Not all cliques are set out to ruin a young adolescents’ life by allowing them to make bad choices. According to the Huffpost, there are four benefits to having and being a part in cliques. They are; Friends, A Role, An Identity, and Social Standing. Friendships are an important part of life. Cliques can work as a building block to friendships. Sometimes an adolescent might be too shy to approach anyone. Cliques can work as a stepping stone to friendship because their likes and interests are already known publicly. Next, A Role within the clique. There is always a role that needs to be filled within a clique and no two people have to be the same thing if they do not want to. Having a role in a clique can make the adolescent feel important and it gives them freedom to express themselves. An identity is something that is important unit as a whole, but also for an adolescent. Adolescents are just trying to figure out who they are and who they might become. By being part of a clique, it gives them a sense of belonging and it starts helping them realize who they really are. Cliques help them choose what they want whether they recognize it or not. By choosing a certain clique they have decided that they do not want to/ will not joint a different clique with different perspectives. Cliques also build social standing. It teaches the adolescent to communicate to with other and try to be friendly towards new people. Which overall could be exciting to adolescents when they realize that they can meet new people doing by having their own clique. They can reflect on their past experiences and remember how their clique first got together. Gaining social skills at an adolescent age is necessary. They need to learn how to be social and communicate to the best of their ability. If an adolescent does not establish a basic social skill, they will not have the proper communication skills that they will need to get a job, to make adult friendships, or to even seek out a potential romantic interest. It will become very frustrating when an adolescent grows up and does not know how to communicate properly at all. These four benefits of cliques are good for building the proper communication foundation in adolescents. It will help teach them how to interact with people.
There are more disadvantages to cliques than there are benefits. Many people absolutely hate cliques. Cliques can tear apart a lot of things in a matter of seconds. Friendships, workplaces, and schools. Most adolescents do not mean to cause any harm when they form a clique, however, that is ultimately what happens. Adolescents make cliques which ultimately excludes others from entering. They can even go to the extreme of bullying someone just for fun. For example, mean girls, a group of girls who believe they are above anyone else. They pick on other students who they deem to be below them. When they make fun of these students, it hurtsthe students more than they know or even care to know. This is a huge reason why people do not like cliques. They exclude whoever they want and can then even turn on people and attack them in many ways. According to The Round Up, “Separation from other classmates and groups can sometimes result in controversy and tension.Groups often become tagged with stereotypes that offend the participating members of that group.” Tension can build anxiousness and can result in anxiety. It gives adolescents the thought that they are not good enough to be involved in a clique, or that they are not liked at all. Cliques also put limits on friendships. The cliques make friendships that usually consist of similar people. This is a problem because it limits diversity, and diversity in friendships. Because cliques enable peer pressure, they can lead to bad decisions.Cliques are also known to provoke bad behavior amongst adolescents. They think it is all fun and games at first until they do something that cannot be taken back and are left to deal with the consequences.
