Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids

This book is written by my colleague Murray Milner. I gave this book 5 stars because it is good sociology. Murray has a tight methodology and he develops a lucid theory of status groups based on his data. This book is intended for an academic audience so it may not entertain a broad audience. It makes some really important points about how adults unwittingly set teenagers up to become status mongering consumers. I like Murray's big picture approach to thinking about social problems.

for a soci class, honestly really interesting!

I helped this professor edit this book!

This was more than the fun description of status systems in U.S. high schools this nerd was hoping for--it had a couple of really fascinating insights: 1) Part of (the book seems to argue "all of," but I really only believed "part of") the reason social status competition is so intense in high schools is that social status is about the *only* form of status available to students in high schools (there's restricted or no access to professional, political, etc. status). So of course social status is hotly contested. I also think we are just wired to be extra sensitive to status during these years when we're biologically becoming adults and in other societies would be busy sorting out who should be taking up which up adult roles, but whatever. 2) The "prep" (sosh/popular/etc.) group is at bottom characterized by a "work hard/play hard" (be a cheerleader who drinks on the weekends but doesn't get caught) ethos that mirrors the adult-world success norms of yuppies (work 80 hours a week and then get wasted). All while conspicuously consuming in other ways as well. The author points out that this lifestyle necessitates a sort of cynicism that arguably is a necessary defense mechanism for a "successful" life in our society. And suddenly I finally realized this is what Twin Peaks is all about! And it made total sense why that show came out of the eighties, when this type of pressure and corresponding need for adaptation was most intense, and why it's trendy again these last couple of years, when it is again! So, this blew my mind.

Decent introductory text for sociological method. Has some interesting things to say about youth culture; I particularly agree with his main point, which is that, so long as you bar kids from actual power and responsibility, they'll obsess over pointless shit and snipe at each other. Limited by the excessive epistemological modesty that is characteristic of the field. Also, not exactly a thrill ride. High time I resubscribe to the New Yorker, since I'm getting desperate for bathroom reading

For the March book club I read Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids: American Teenagers, Schools, and the Culture of Consumption by Murray Milner, Jr. I actually first heard of this book when I was studying in Australia and writing a paper on consumer culture for a Sociology class; however, the library didn’t have the book so I wasn’t able to read it at the time. I stumbled upon the book again when visiting a former professor and browsing her bookshelves, so I decided to give it a try.

I’ve always been interested in adolescence and its sociological theories, but it is even more fascinating now that I work with high school students and witness the social interplays between status and consumerism within my group of students. The after-school program I work with is interesting in the fact that it is made of high school students from across Saint Paul whose only required similarity is an interest in media production. This means that we have a pretty diverse group of youth - who might not have chosen to spend time together otherwise. While some of the students know each other through friends or previous classes together, they are no longer in their normal social settings and they have to reevaluate their status amongst each other.

While reading Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids I couldn’t help but think of my group of students as Milner explored the various answers as to “Why do American teenagers behave the way they do?” Milner looks at the influences on teenagers’ lives, such as parents, schools, and social class and concludes that while all those factors are influential, it is actually peers which have the most impact on teenagers and their behavior. Throughout the book Milner uses status groups and the example of “adolescence as a caste system” to provide explanation to his main questions. One of his most important points is that status is so important to teenagers because after spending the majority of the time being told what they can and cannot do by adults, “in one realm...their power is supreme; they control their evaluations of one another...the kind of power they do have is status power: the power to create their own status systems based on their own criteria” (25). Milner explores the different variables in how the status systems are created by attending different high schools, observing and interviewing the students.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in sociology, especially that of adolescence. Milner does a nice job of putting social theories in simpler terms to explain his findings. If you currently work with teenagers this book may provide some insight into the behavior of the students, although some of the information seems like it could be derived from common sense.

In Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids: American Teenagers, Schools, and the Culture of Consumption, Murray Milner, Jr. examines the relationships that lead to the formation of school cliques while, at the same time, attempting to tackle the problems of caste-like divisions and the increase in alcohol and drug use and casual sex among teens.

Milner argues that traditional explanations for teenage behavior, such as hormones, psychological development, parenting styles, and social background, are less important than the way adults have used schools to “organize young people’s daily activities” and the systems that teens have constructed in response to that organization. Milner also explores the role of consumerism in teen identity formation.

Generally, the formation of school cliques boils down to one concern: status. Why are teens in the United States so concerned with status? “It is because they have so little real economic or political power,” Milner explains. Teens have very little say over what happens in school or the subjects they study, so they concentrate on the one area where they do have power: the power to create their own status systems.

In order to maintain status, “insiders” must make it difficult to gain that status, so they frequently change and complicate the norms. That is, according to Milner, the source of teenage concern over possessing the latest fashions, music, and lingo. Businesses have spun this concern into a multi-billion dollar industry.

Milner proposes a relatively simple solution: stop segregating young people from the rest of society. “…reforming the curriculum and teaching techniques… will not change the structures that produce and sustain the patterns of behavior we associate with teenagers,” he warns. Milner’s theory is compelling but not without its faults.

The case could be made that teenagers, especially those under the age of 17, have more power and influence today than at any other point in history, especially when it comes to life choices and disposable income. For the first time, the majority of adolescents can look forward to at least having the opportunity for a higher education.

Questions remain: are children and teenagers more “segregated” from adult society today than they were in the previous century? Do they have less independence and opportunity? If Milner’s theory is correct, but the answer to these questions is “no,” we should see less social cliquishness and status-obsession among teens today than in the past, not more.

While there is less pressure to conform to social norms in adolescence as there was even a decade ago, targeted marketing has exacerbated cliques by dividing teenagers into groups based on narrowly-defined interests. Teens may not have political power, but they certainly have economic power. According to Statisticbrain.com, total U.S. teen spending in 2016 amounted to $258.7 billion. Advertisers compete to tap into that lucrative revenue stream, which means they are, at least to some extent, responding to teenager’s needs and desires.

First released in 2006, Milner has recently published a revised edition of Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids emphasizing the role of social media and standardized testing. I have not read the new edition, but it would be interesting to see if he has reconsidered some of his earlier conclusions, especially since teen pregnancy rates and drug use are on the decline (teen pregnancy in the U.S. is at historic lows). Still, Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids remains an insightful and thoroughly-researched book on contemporary youth culture.

I read this book for a high school sociology project. I loved it for many reasons, but I think I mostly enjoyed the book because of how relatable it was to my own life and the lives I see among my peers. I think it was extremely well written, with factual evidence as well as real life stories, and there would be an interesting section for any teenager, or adult, to relate to from some point of their life. It did begin to become a bit repetitive with the ideas towards the end, but was still interesting. I loved the sections on rebellion, and how much adults influence teenagers and their choices, and I have chosen to further my sociology project on these ideas because of this amazing book. It is definitely worth reading if you have any interest in teenagers and why they do the things they do.