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A high school subculture is comprised of a group of high school students with identifiable and distinctive traits. (Such a group can also be known as a 'clique' or 'clic'.) High school subcultures frequently identify with a larger subculture extant in the society as a whole, although some are high school specific. Some groups associate easily; others have traditional animosities. Not all of these subcultures exist in a given high school; regional differences and even radical differences in extant subcultures between nearby high schools exist. The name for a substantially similar subculture in two different places is also often different. Some subcultures (e.g. jocks and nerds) are quite old; others (e.g. goths) are relatively new.
Although this term is prevalent in the United States, it has been related by anecdotal evidence that such subcultures exist internationally.
Examples of high school subcultures are:
Note that many of the subcultures may also have a sub-subculture. Examples include choir students who are taking madrigal chorus and their friends.
Within each group may be several different strands, depending on the size of the group; for example, at a large school, within the set of 'jocks', there may be individual sub-subcultures of those who are cross country runners, football players, volleyball players, tennis players, swimmers, etc.
Some high school subcultures have declined and died out.
Being a member of one high school subculture does not always prevent someone from being in another subculture. For instance, a person may be in band and chorus and be a jock. However, many groups are exclusive and known membership in one group would prevent membership in another.
For example, the In-Crowd (popular people) would not knowingly have a member who was also in the rejects subculture. These groups typically have high amounts of mutual distrust, usually due to social ostracization (being mean, name-calling, stereotyping, etc.).
Switching from one mutually-exclusive subculture to another is possible but not necessarily easy or quick. Students who do this invite much examination and discussion (and potentially, ridicule) of their lives by other high school students. The more drastic the change, the more such a transition would be discussed and noted.
Carl Jung, the famous psychologist, noted that most people go through several stages in their lives - infant, toddler, child, adolescent / young adult, adult, middle age, old age. During each stage, people change their behavior patterns due to both internal and external decisions. These decisions may be conscious or not. During adolescence, people decide who they want to be, and how they want to typically act. This process involves trying out different concepts-of-self, and deciding if the result fits, is pleasant or unpleasant, and how their many talents enable them to succeed or not succeed with that persona.
Trying on a different personality (as one would try on a shirt) is a natural part of growing up and discovering oneself.
Thus, joining a high school subculture is a method of exploring what life would be like with a personality that included the values and common decisions that people in that subculture commonly have and make.
Frequently, students will join a specific subculture and not examine why they are there, merely going along with what other people expect of them. Anecdotal evidence (not any firm scientfic study) might tend to indicate that 'going along with the crowd' might tend to lead to many undeveloped life skills and unhappiness later in life. However reasonable as this supposition is, further studies or notations of existing studies might show if this is or is not true.
Many works of fiction have been made that highlight how people in a specific high school subculture 'succeed' in life after high school.
Some comments are possible looking at prominent, successful individuals and determining if their subculture membership was in any way distinctive or predictive. Some politically successful famous people (for example, President Bill Clinton) showed their ability in high school to be very able to cross subculture boundaries, and make friends with people who have vastly different interest areas.
However, while it is possible for a person to change their life entirely upon graduation, this typically does not happen. Most people who are in a science club 'geek' subculture go on to use that interest and knowledge in their adult lives as technical professionals. Likewise, most 'in-crowd' people (who can be viewed as understanding social dynamics on a more intuitive level) go on to professions in sales, marketing, and personnel management (NOTE: anecdotal evidence, firm studies are not in evidence).
Famous movies have been made highlighting the differences between and among high school subcultures.
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