Unit 4 Discussion
What is lifestyle pluralism, according to Milner? What examples does Milner give? Do you agree or disagree with his argument? Why or why not?
According to Milner, “lifestyle pluralism is a mélange of relatively unranked groups that have differing lifestyles and discernable social boundaries” (Milner, 2016, p. 111). The example given include groups in high schools like the jocks, preps, nerd, skaters, etc. I do agree with Milner that lifestyle pluralism exists and is inevitable. Students do not have much of a choice to participant in the concept of lifestyle pluralism due to the observation that these groups are “clearly limited by income, cultural capital, family connections, and physical attributes” (Milner, 2016, p. 112). I personally ran into these situations in high school. Everyone was so quick to categorize other students, even if a peer was not the way others categorized them. For example, the skaters at my high school had a stigma against them for being below average students. Their appearance, posture, and sometimes attitudes gave off the impression that they did not care about their grades. There was many of them though, that although outwardly did not appear paying attention, still aced their courses with flying colors. Generalization is rarely accurate.
Milner, M. (2015). Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids: Teenagers in an Era of Consumerism, Standardized Tests, and Social Media (2nd ed.). Routledge.
- Milner argues that the typical explanations (hormones and psychological development) are less important than status in terms of explaining the experiences of teenagers. Explain his argument. Do you agree? Why or why not?
During the teenage and early adolescent years, Milner states that "For teenagers, acceptance or rejection by peer cliques and crowds—preps, jocks, nerds, etc.—is often perceived to be much more important than academic success. Some become virtually obsessed with social distinctions made by their peers." (Milner Jr., 2015). The act of impressing their peers and having that feeling of acceptance and that they belong is more important than anything else during the teenage years for most teenagers. In the discussion of being "accepted" within a certain group/clique, especially in high school, status is a factor that contributes to the impact and influence.
Milner describes the 'status' in teenage crowds to be a different example and a category of its own in comparison to how society itself perceives the meaning of 'status' applied in the real world, although they are in some ways somewhat similar (Milner Jr., 2015); he goes on to explain that "For teenagers, acceptance or rejection by peer cliques and crowds—preps, jocks, nerds, etc.—is often perceived to be much more important than academic success. Some become virtually obsessed with social distinctions made by their peers." (Milner Jr., 2015).
As terrible as it is, I agree with Milner's argument. During the most vulnerable phase in one's life, being a teenager and going through lots of changes both physically and mentally and majority of teens have the need to feel accepted by society or their peers mostly. They feel a sense of accomplishment or belonging when this happens. Unfortunately, during the teenage years, most teens are heavily influenced by their friends and peers more than other influences and this creates a big impact on their self confidence an self worth; I've witnessed this among my peers and friends back in high school and just my peers generally from my own experiences. In addition, Milner also believes this because he argues that, "This new autonomy and reduced control by adults usually means that the influence of peers is amplified dramatically.66 All of these processes are further intensified when students reach high school. They move to larger, more complex schools, gain increased mobility (often by driving cars), and greater communication facilities (via the telephone, e-mail, and the Internet). Not only school time, but most leisure time is spent in the presence of peers or in communication with them." (Milner Jr., 2015).
Reference:
Milner Jr., M., 2015. Freaks, geeks, and cool kids. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Routledge.
