The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Alexandra Robbins [42]
Whereas being likeable involves simple gestures of friendliness, the fight to get and keep perceived popularity is a competition. Contenders must strategize, wheeling and dealing their way to the top, all the while watching their backs. Their maneuvering may involve realigning relationships, finding followers, or casting out less loyal members to shift their support base. From the populars’ perspective, meanness can be an effective way to execute these tactics. Meanness is a language that allows a girl to enjoy her popularity, protect her status, wield her influence, display her seemingly invincible power, and force peers to recognize her dominance. It is a technique that some students believe is necessary to manipulate the confusing social world in school. I don’t aim to defend meanness, but rather to explain it from a less common view. From the populars’ perspective, the question might not be “Why are we mean?” but rather, “How can we afford not to be?”
BLUE, HAWAII | THE GAMER
In leadership class, which Blue took only because the student council had appointed him the school Webmaster, the substitute teacher was talking to two class officers. Other students crowded around the teacher’s desk.
“Nobody could ever possibly take over Google,” the substitute said.
Blue looked up from his iPhone. From his seat in the back of the room he called out, “Hey, you know, Facebook has the potential to take over Google.”
“Shut up,” the senior class president said. “You’re stupid.”
Wow, you’re not a critical thinker at all, are you, Blue thought. He persisted, wanting to share a provocative concept. “No, just listen. Facebook is the only place on the Internet where people use their real names. And Facebook is gathering more new users a day than any other site right now. And what they have that Google needs is personal info on each of those people,” Blue explained. “Google only has what you type into the search box. If Facebook were to start something like AdWords, it would be more effective at selling you things, thus generating much more money than Google, and therefore being worth more in the future, ruling the Internet, Facebook being the hub.”
The substitute looked down her nose. “I was on the Internet before you were even born,” she said. “You can Google anybody’s name and find all their info.”
The students laughed at Blue. “How could Facebook possibly take over Google?!” they said.
The sub continued, “Sorry, I just don’t see the point of chatting with people you don’t know.”
“That’s not even what I’m talking about,” Blue protested. “That’s such a small portion of the Internet. You’re thinking too closed-minded.”
One of the students butted in again. “Okay, sorry, Mark, we’re not talking about whatever it is you do on the Internet. We’re talking about normal people.”
Blue should have been used to this sort of treatment by now, but it still angered him. Although he was generally reticent, he was not shy about vocalizing his opinions in class, no matter how unpopular they might be. As he put it, “I’m different from everybody else in almost every respect and I’m not afraid to talk about it.” Blue was that student who played devil’s advocate, who enjoyed defending viewpoints that dissented from the majority. Often, he could appreciate both sides equally, and therefore found it interesting to argue whichever one was underrepresented. In some classes, like AP Government, his classmates and teacher liked to engage him in debates. In other classes, students told him to shut up.
A few nights later, Blue, Stewart, Ty, and Jackson were stargazing at a local playground. The 2 A.M. sky was so clear they could see the faint cloud across the area that Blue called the edge of the galaxy. They lay on top of the jungle gym and talked