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[quote=Anonymous]There's multiple meanings of the word "popular" and these are all examples of the meaning that means "generally liked."  But I've worked with kids and teens and teens still hold the same definitions of popular as wielding social power as we had back when (and what align with what social psychologists who study this find).  They show it differently and are a bit more subtle, but it's not really that different.

There are a whole class of "popular" kids who use the power to include/exclude and set standards--these kids are admired but not always liked.  There's a lot of game-playing and drama around status, though it's more subtle than the queen bee types from movies.  There are a handful of kids who rise above that due to combination of luck, confidence and charisma who are genuinely likeable.

Then there are the vast majority of kids who have friends who care about them and have minor drama within  their groups but don't stand out as the social leaders.  This in my opinion is the best place for a kid to thrive.  They have friends but they have freedom to be themselves, and they don't have a target on their back from the social climbers.

There are sadly still those who are sort of unaffiliated with few friends and those that have antagonistic relationships to their other peers.  Again, more subtle than kids who are shoved into lockers, but it's still the same dynamic.[/quote]

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