There is most certainly no shortage of cautionary tales warning us all of the dangers of peaking too early. In fact, there’s an entire although, admittedly, mostly American film genre dedicated to the ‘cool kids’ at school getting their comeuppance and slowly joining the rest of us ‘normal’ folk in a life of mediocrity. When it comes to teen films, taking the ‘cool kids’ down a peg or two is still a very bankable (albeit slightly malicious) storyline that’s guaranteed to pull on the heartstrings of teens and adults alike.
And, according to new research published in Child Development, those high-school films might not have been that far from the truth, because it found that people who were considered popular among their peers in their early teens were more likely to be considered uncool or socially incompetent in their 20s. The study tracked 175 people for a decade from the ages of 13 to 23 and found that children who place less focus on being popular and more focus on being honest, hardworking and helpful were the ones who’d ultimately end up on top.
Health Day reports: ‘The study team found that 13-year-olds who sought maturity, had early romantic relationships, placed a premium on social status and pretty people, and acted out in a sometimes delinquent manner were, indeed, routinely described by peers as cool and popular. But, by the time they reached their 20s, the same people were often characterised as decidedly uncool and even socially incompetent. It would appear that more destructive behaviours are considered cool at an earlier age, so it seems only natural that they would result in a lack of maturity later on in life.’
Which is all rather reassuring isn’t it? But Joseph P. Allen who was the primary author of the study doesn’t think that we should get too overexcited yet, because it's still possible for cool kids to start acting like the rest of us if they really want to: ‘[Those who] continue to seek popularity by trying to act cool, rather than learning to be a good friend [or] honesty are indeed going to have trouble. But one can get off this track at any time.’
So it looks like even the cool kids can repent eventually – which totally ruins that Hollywood ending we had in mind for our school reunion in 20 years time...
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.