To the left of the hallway, one can see the nerds, their noses buried in textbooks, cramming in a final study session before their calculus test later that day. Not too far away from them, the signature black clothing of the “goths” can be spotted with their ears emerged into the heavy metal music that blasts through their headphones. Meanwhile, the “popular” kids are gossipping and conversing about the party taking place after the football game on Friday night.

There are many different cliques that students are classified into in high school and the roles that they play are dependent upon what group they are in. These classifications limit one to how they spend their high school years and who they spend it with. One’s peers are divided into categories including whether or not they are studious, play any sports, or are signified as “popular”.

Those labeled as “nerds” in high school are characterized as being introverts who have a superior knowledge in school and rough time when it comes to social skills. They scrutinize over assignments in the late hours of the night, striving for academic success.

Muscular, athletic, and handsome. These are the trademark motifs that describe how “jocks” are viewed in today’s society. “Jocks” are the star-studded athletes who will most likely be going to college on scholarship, despite their substandard grades and whose confidence is, in most case, higher than their GPA.

The “popular” clique maintains the image of being social, fashion-conscious, and most likely come from a suburban middle to upper-class family. They are overly-confident in themselves and use their popularity to gossip about and lower the self-esteem of others. They are envied by most of their peers and usually become voted Prom king or queen their senior year.

Popular culture is polluting the minds of high schoolers into believing that an individual should be classified into groups based on their most prominent interests and hobbies through social media, tabloids, and movies and television. Due to this, the public conforms to the stereotypes that popular culture creates, continually decreasing the idea of individuality in society.