Scrapbook-Cliques+Article+Summaries

=﻿**__Cliques__**=

Summary
The concept of a clique can have two meanings. One, it can mean that it is a group of people who interact with each other more intensively than others in the same setting. However, when it is used to describe a popular group it has a more negative association. The word is used to describe a social group, usually adolecents, that exclude others on superficial differences, and putting a great amount of peer pressure on the groups members. The terms used by the teenagers to explain themselves or others include jocks, populars, nerds, normals, preps, stoners, rockers, punks, skaters, etc. They are examples of both meanings. The names refer to what the members have in common, as well as the exclusiveness of the groups, and members interact on a fairly regular basis. Being included in a clique, attempting to join a clique, or being excluded from a clique is considered normal in adolescent development. It helps a child to develop, identify, and regulate social interaction. In late elementary school, between the 8 and 10 years old, children tend to sense differences between themselves and others and the cliques begin to form. As they later become less attached to their parents, their identification with their peers is exaggerated and the child's clique can change daily. During middle and high school belonging to a clique is very important. Not belonging to one could take a toll on their confidence and self-worth. In high school, cliques are more consistent and a teen's behaviour is predicted by the behaviour of their clique than the behaviour of their individual friends. Most cliques are complex and have both positive and negative qualities and are judged on the effect they have on their members.

=﻿**__Cliques__**=

Summary
Adolescents have many issues to face, from clothes and curfews, to peers and parents with plenty more problems to add to it. Some of those issues also include decisions about the future, and one's social life. Some teens feel like their parents aren't as involved in their lives and kept up to speed on the times and feel more comfortable talking to their peers. They turn to the members of the clique for advice and support rather than their parents, especially if its about the parent or a teacher, and will listen and support them. Being in a clique gives the child a feeling of acceptance and belonging and that connection can become important in coping in all the complications of life. Sometimes being in a clique can also give you motivation and confidence and impact you to overcome your fears. However, there are many different types of cliques and a person can be pre-judged by the clique they have joined and the students mentally ranks the cliques. Usually jocks and cheerleaders and their cliques have been at the top but it varies for different schools. Of course there is also the cliques for the outsiders, the people who don't quite fit in with the rest. One way clique members can identify with each other is the way they dress and some dress codes are similar. When a member of a clique, the teen and the other members think of themselves as the "us" and all others are "them". Not all teens want to be part of a clique but many do. However, they may not be accepted and those rejected feel sad and alone---an outcast. Each clique has their own meeting place and it could become territorial. And, there is generally no crossover between the various cliques unless the teen commits some egregious offense or if he or she comes to the realization that they no longer wish to be associated with certain people.When that happens, the rejection and ostracism may be rather dramatic and painful. Still, if an adolescent has been a member of a destructive or negative clique, then he or she will benefit from a permanent break.Tension between the various cliques is not uncommon, especially between the cliques at the various ends of the spectrum and the teens that consider themselves outsiders have been known to respond with acts of extreme violence. Often by excluding, teasing or tormenting other teens, cliques serve a negative function. They may turn non-members into scapegoats. Usually, among females, there is verbal abuse, which may be extraordinarily hurtful. Among males, the abuse may be verbal, but it is frequently also physical. Like cliques, gangs offer an emotional bond. But gangs, which are even more controlling than cliques, seem to be cliques taken to the extreme. Members of gangs view fellow members as family. Secrets are kept within the gang. And their turfs are not confined to the school building. Instead, they dominate streets and neighborhood areas. And gang activity is often delinquent and violent. Once in a gang, teens tend to have problems with the other parts of their lives. They may sneak out of their home at odd hours, and their grades will begin to drop. Since they will want to emulate the other members of the gang, they may suddenly wear a new style of clothing, often to the dismay of the parents. And, they may come home sporting the same tattoo worn by other gang members. Fortunately, while cliques are ubiquitous, gangs, especially outside the large urban areas, are relatively uncommon.

=﻿__Coping with Cliques__=

Summary
Figuring out who is your friend and who is not is just a part of growing up. It can be fantastic to have that one BFF or just a group of pals to hang out with. Being in a group can help make your day easier and you can learn important life skills. Groups form around things that people have in common. People are naturally drawn together because of their similar interests and then they have a place where feel that they are welcome and supported. A place where they can be themselves. Some groups can stay together for a long time but others drift apart because of members developing new interests. People even move in and out of groups or be part of several at the same time. Some goups seem flexible and welcome people to join in and others are more restircted. They make it clear to others that not just anyone can join. Groups like this are called cliques. Cliques are tight groups that usually have strict code of membership and ways to act. Instead of focusing on values and beliefs, they are more concerned with keeping their status and popularity. They use their power to hurt others on purpose, either by excluding or being mean or both. They use different methods of insulting and humiliating others. Sometimes some outside the group is victimized for being, looking, or acting differently from them. Unlike regular friends, who are free to socialize as they choose, cliques do everything together or people they decide are "cool." Although people think that being a part of a clique than be excluded, they find themselves having to still deal with pressure and rules and might begin to realize that they are not true friends.

=**__Children's Cliques__**=

**Summary**
As children learn about having friends and being friends in elementary school, cliques tend to form. Cliques have always been prominent in the social landscape of middle school, but now they can be seen in grades as young as kindergarten and girls are more concerned with who's "in" or "out." Cliques can be very destructive, as anyone who has experienced their exclusion knows. Acceptance by a group is important to all humans, but the harmful power of cliques can be enhanced or diminished by the influence of adults and peers in the social environment. When cliques form at this age, they are frequently reflections of adult cliques; and, they are enabled by teachers and other adults in an atmosphere of privilege and exclusion based on physical appearance, social class, and other local criteria.Cliques usually have a leader who uses emotional manipulation to empower some and exclude others. Children who are part of a clique will experience emotional highs and lows as they strive to become and to remain members of the clique. This is a painful experience even for those who are accepted by the clique. It's important for children to understand how and why cliques are hurtful. Cliques can be minimized in the school setting, even in a community atmosphere that promotes cliquishness and exclusivity. But, it takes administrators, teachers, and parents who know how to disrupt cliques early and teach children the importance of diversity and inclusion. When peer leaders value inclusiveness and being friendly to everyone, the atmosphere is quite different from the culture that develops when peer leaders value only those with the cutest clothes or athletic ability. This culture tends to form early and lasts until the identity stabilization of late adolescence. =__**High School Cliques and Teenage Pressure: The Effects on Teens and Friendship**__=

Summary
Even though parents may feel that teen’s peers have more influence on them than the parents do, studies confirm that when it comes to moral values and important issues, parents still have a greater affect. However, no one can deny that the influence of other children and friends is paramount in a teens’ life. Even if that means the teen wants to spend a lot less time with the family, good relationships with same-sex friends are a positive aspect as they help them feel like they belong and reaffirm their decisions. However, peer influence can sometimes turn sour. Especially among girls, cliques are a way of life and the teen years comprise the thick of it. When the cliques are all about who has more money or better clothes, and start influencing the teen in a negative way, they may feel ostracized and terribly uncomfortable. Such unfair behaviors add pressure to an already stressful time, sometimes causing teens to make risky or unwise decisions about their own behavior.The key to keeping on track is for the parents to remain actively involved in their teen's life and to convey values often. Get to know the child’s friends. Talk to them and get to know their parents. Encourage the relationships with kids that influence them in a positive way, discouraging the others.Try to limit contact with friends you believe are involved in unacceptable behaviors such as drinking, drugs or skipping school. Encourage hobbies, sports and after-school clubs, at which they may interact with other kids with similar interests and values.Be sensitive to the child's need to conform and feel like part of a group as this stage doesn’t last forever.

=**__What is a Clique?__**=

**Summary**
Though some cliques may act in mean and emotionally destructive ways toward outsiders, other cliques are far less threatening. Not every clique or clique member chooses to govern by being cruel to other people. They may simply not notice the needs of outsiders. The exclusive nature of the clique is rather like a sorority in this respect. ||
 * A clique is a social group most often seen in junior high or high school settings, and generally more often noted among girls than boys. However, adults can certainly belong to a clique as well.Generally the clique is organized among younger children by those who appear to have enough in common to befriend each other. Unfortunately, friendship can quickly give way to power struggle, peer pressure and ostracization of those outside the clique.Outsiders targeted by a clique may be subject to insults and bullying, which can be psychologically damaging.Difficulty exists for those outside any defined grouping. This can be painful, and may make the person on the outside a target of clique members. A nasty part of the clique power structure may involve bullying, harassment, or playing jokes on non-clique members. Fear of no longer being part of the clique may force children to behave in ways that are immensely hurtful to others. Failure to go along with the leaders of the clique, often called "queen bees," can result in becoming an outcast. Often the clique has a defined leader, though leadership may change from time to time. A clique may be seen as the “in crowd," and may have a corresponding male group with which they exclusively socialize.Though it is often thought that there can be only one clique in a school setting, cliques may organize along lines of interest. A clique may begin innocently enough with families who belong to the same social group or simply live near enough to each other to organize frequent play dates when children are young Many films have documented the clique infrastructure and its potentially destructive force in a social setting.

Analysis
The good part of it is that some people can have some things in common and they instantly have a connection and that's just great. On the less than great side, it is hard for some people to find that connection. That is when all the stress of school comes in. People become friends, more people join them, the friends become closer, and they start to form a group. They set standards and won't settle for anything less. It becomes a children's goal, for possibly the whole time they are in school, to become a part of a certain clique. Sometimes it could almost become more important their grades.As much as some may think different, kids really do have a lot on there hands. For them, high school could either be a safe haven or their worst nightmare. They could be accepted or rejected. Being accepted can simply mean acceptance to the child.Being accepted can motivate you, give you confidence in yourself, and help you overcome your greatest fears. There are many different cliques that welcome different people. However, you can be prejudged by others by the clique you are a part of and sometimes those judgments aren't always correct. Individuals have their own ways of coping with a situation that may or may not seem to fit in with the group. All in all, cliques can make you or break you or just not have much affect what so ever. These school cliques can possibly be applied to the Grand Theories of Behaviourism and Psychoanalysis. People can act in a certain way subconsiously from the external environment of the cliques.

=**__Blogging Community or Circles and Cliques?__**=

Summary
More and more we find a disturbing trend of blogging cliques and circles. Some even so far as to call "blogging covens." In the comments section of those blogs are filled with effusive commentary left by the fans of the author. By the comments to which have been replied to and those which have not you can tell who is in and who is out. Many bloggers have a "commenting policy" which enables them to choose to reply to the comments or not. Often they are comments of value left unanswered, where as comments, sometimes of no value, are being replied. Following the links back to the commentator's blog you discover the same bloggers commenting over and over on each others blogs. Although a blogger's readership, or fan base, appears as a community it is not. All sense of community has been lost. Many boggers seeking advice or insight are shunned in favor of "friends" whom only are all too willing to send out anything good or bad about their friends.As blogging has moved into a new era through social media and social networking, the blogger has taken on a new persona and mindset that may or may not be true to the spirit of blogging in the most organic sense of what blogging really is: a community, not a coven.

=**__Web Cliques Too Cool For School__**=

Summary
A clique is traditionally defined as a group of mostly teens who spend a lot of time together, control who hangs out with them and talk about a few specific subjects. But these days, another definition of a clique is a website that serves as a virtual gathering place, where the site's owner picks the topic of discussion, sets rules for joining and vets whose on-topic sites can be linked.They are a developing trend in online communities in which someone builds a site focused on a topic. The owner then accepts applications from others with like-minded, well-designed sites who want to join the clique. The owner sets rules and conditions for membership and then provides links to all the approved member sites.On popular cliques, membership can number in the several hundreds. Once the clique is born, members communicate with each other via e-mail, chat, discussion boards and instant messaging. A clique has several mandatory structural elements, which include About, Rules, Members and Codes sections. In general, a clique will clearly define its topic.And while the bar for membership in a clique may not be high, clique owners take the rules seriously, especially those about codes. Some owners spend a great deal of time crafting their codes and often present many different versions that can be used by members for linking back to the home clique.But in addition to laying out a common set of rules -- no porn, good design, proper use of codes -- some clique owners throw in little twists, seeking to assure that would-be members have thoroughly read the rules.

=**__New Facebook Features: Prepare for More Cliques__**=

Summary
Facebook's new features will fundamentally change the way many people use the site. Revamped Groups and a control center for third-party applications will reassure users who want to play on Facebook without accidentally oversharing with the wrong audience.This looks like a strong step forward in helping Facebook users understand the default settings, which vary from app to app, and decide whether something feels safe or intrusive. Facebook touted this feature not only as offering more choice and transparency for users, but as encouraging app developers to be more judicious in how they treat users.You can, for instance, create a group for family members, another for coworkers, and another for people you haven't seen since kindergarten. This should make Facebook more fun, if you've found lately that the more awkward "friends" you've accepted, the less freely you've been communicating there.There are three options for groups. The default, Closed setting hides content from anyone who doesn't belong. Making a group Open, on the other hand, means that the world--even outside of Facebook--can see what your group is up to. Labeling a group Private is a "Skull & Bones" option; nonmembers can't view your activities and can't even see that your group exists.Unfortunately, though you can share individual images among the groups, you can't do the same with photo albums.Wouldn't you like to hide awkward seventh-grade class photos you're tagged in--or snapshots of last weekend's bachelor party--from key "friends"? Oddly enough, the new Groups feature may subject you to the whims of other users who can add you without getting your permission to do so. Imagine suddenly finding that fans of a political candidate you loathe have included you in their club. Once you ask to leave the group forever, however, its members can't continue to add you.The emergence of private Group spaces will mean more channels within Facebook for users to share, with social circles being broken into smaller, self-defined categories. If more users hide activities behind closed Groups that they would previously have broadcast broadly on Facebook, nosy relatives, advertisers, and curious onlookers may find themselves shut out of a newly cliqueish virtual world.That's great if you're wary of sharing too much information, but it also changes the character of a site that has offered a sort of freewheeling, stream-of-consciousness way of learning about "friends" on walls and via news feeds. Facebook may evolve into an ecosystem or "social platform" of communities that are more self-segregated than in the past. In any case, maybe it's time for Facebook users to judge each other by the content and character of their groups rather than by the sheer number of their friends.

=**__Cliques in Cyberspace, Bullying on Facebook, IM and Social Media__**=

Summary
The prevalence of cyberbulling is epidemic with children and teens both as victims and perpectrators. This is cliques taken to an extreme. Computers are tools that Children can us to have Skype conversations with grandparents, or learn to type, play math games and sometimes other games. Even though they can be used for good they can also be used for things that are not so good. In the last year, 43% of children aged 13-17 were cyberbullied and 53% of teens admitted to sending a nastygram and only 10% told their parents. Some schools havea Code of Conduct for computer usage that explicitly discusses cyberbullying. Every child is expected to sign it - starting in Kindergarten. Common Sense Media reports that children in 2nd grade report cyberbullying - so it's not too soon to start. It's important that educators teach students about appropriate behavior online. Parents set family rules for the computer like:Mom and Dad have full access to your accounts ending at some point in high school, only send and accept messages from people you know, accept friend and buddy requests from people you know, learn how to block people in IM, Skype, Facebook and anywhere else permitted online, and do not send a message or a picture that you would not deliver in person, face to face.

Analysis
Along with the new age and era, the internet and social networking sites it seems that cliques have taken it to another level. Cliques aren't just for school any longer. Comments, privacy settings, emails, etc. have given cliques new power and ways to insult, exclude, and humiliate others. Like the regular high school cliques, they are brought together by mutual interests, have leaders, and often target outsiders. However, due to the shield of computer screen, some cliques and bullies become more brave because they think there isn't a way to connect it all back to them. That's the way many teens have participated in this. It links back to the same definition but in a whole other location. Cliques and Bullying on the internet can also possibly be connected to the Grand Theory of Behaviorism. The people doing the bullying are bullying others in a certain way because it is a different environment. They are doing this on the internet thinking that they won't be caught because they think there is no proof that it is them. Although, it can also be the other way around. They could be completely content with the fact that the person that they are ganging up on is fully aware of who they are but don't care because they believe that won't get in trouble. After all it is the internet, not school. When the people see that there isn't any punishment they will keep on doing it becoming more fearless. They get the idea that they are invincible.