During my time in high school, I have seen a split between the student population. Some students become the book-loving, “nerds” that appear to know every fact in the world, while others become the “popular” kids who tend to travel with a group of friends.

It may appear now that the popular kids are going to prosper later in life with their large friend groups and leave the nerds behind. However, newer evidence shows that this is not entirely true.   

To start, most of us have seen the shows and movies that include bullying incidents where the popular kids constantly pick on the nerds. According to a study by the University of California, Davis, popular kids get picked on just as much as the nerds, but the consequences of being bullied can be more severe for those popular students. The study also showed popular kids feel like “they have farther to fall” when bullied, plus they tend to “refuse acknowledgement of problems for the fear of ruining their social standing.”

I feel that I am lucky enough to have a view of both sides. From my experiences being with my “nerdy” friends, I have seen the different ways “popular” students have affected them, but also how my friends were able to overpower those “popular” kids and become stronger people as a result.

A different study by the University of Virginia concluded that the popular kids feel the need to perform extreme behaviors to try to appear “cool” to their peers. This study showed popular students were more likely to have problems later in life, such as having more relationship issues, being involved in crime and having a higher chance to develop alcohol and drug related problems. Overall, the popular kids feel like they need to keep performing petty acts to keep their popularity, while not recognizing how these acts will affect their future.

In the end, there is no need for the nerds to worry. There is a very promising and fruitful life coming in the near future.