How Do Cliques Affect Teen Identity

Effects of Cliques on Teen Identity
Do you know the percentage of teenagers in America that are a part of a clique? Cliques have a tremendous effect on the lives of teens because they are a part of every teen’s life. A clique is simply a group of people that hang out with each other and usually have similar interests. Cliques have the greatest impact on teen identity because they give teens a sense of belonging and social cooperation, discourage new friendships, and suppress individuality. Cliques give teenagers a sense of belonging and allow them to better their skills at social cooperation. When someone joins a clique, they are made to feel welcome and this boosts their social morale. “This is especially the case in teenagers that struggle with family issues at home”, says Lee Peck, from the Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology. “School is the only shelter from the heavy barrage of fire coming from home, so when a group of friends offers an invitation into their clique, the teen jumps on the opportunity”, he says. Teens with
According to Kate Dailey from the Daily Beast, most teenagers are trying to find out who they are, and the “cliquish” labels help make distinctions about who they could be and who they are not. While these labels can be beneficial in forming identity, more often than not, they form an identity for the group. The teens in the group just take in those labels and feel as if they are not individual people. That is a minute form of a collectivist association, and those types of formations do not add to individualism. In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, the main character lives in a society based on collectivism. He is part of a giant “clique” where everyone must think and operate on a combined level. This is similar to a teenage clique because in both cases, the collective is labeled with traits that may not apply to the individuals involved with the