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This study examined a subtype of teenagers- high school students (N= 40) and their alienation from society. The various aspects and reasons of alienation within teenagers were determined from their self-assessments in the form of completing a survey. The students perceived themselves as feeling left out blaming mainly their hectic schedule that prevents other social interactions. However, responses to specific questions in the survey showed that the main reasons for this alienation were extreme competition and materialistic goals; personal reasons somewhat played a role too. These findings are similar to past research papers suggesting that the major causes of teen alienation has more to do with coping with the competition and fulfilling materialistic goals as opposed to their personal choices of isolating themselves.
Alienation, also referred to as social isolation, is a lack of connectedness or a clinical disease causing depression and loneliness and has been a key area of interest for social scientists. Alienation exists among all kinds of people regardless of their age, sex and race; it exists among housewives, working women, the elderly and the men (Jain, 16). Teen alienation, however, has become a growing concern. Alienation can be caused by the individual, who tend to seek social isolation because of his/her personal reasons (Boeree, 00). However, external factors like the growing competition of the globalizing world and people's cravings for materialistic possessions, are responsible for bringing about alienation as well (Jain, 10; Eddy, 001; Pagano, 000). Teen alienation is the growing cause of violence in school, drug abuse and an increase in the number of juvenile delinquents (Seeman, 1). To help researchers clarify the meaning of teen isolation and its effects, it is important that the causes are recognized and this study was a small attempt to initiate that. The hypothesis of this study is that In today's world, materialistic goals and extreme competition are the main causes of alienation of an individual, as opposed to any change within that individual stimulated by external (death of a loved one, moving to a new country, etc.) or internal (a realization or choice) factors.
In order to prove this hypothesis four possible causes of alienation were identified. The first one, materialistic goals include securing a highly paid job, in order to keep up the living standard and social status; an obsession with money; a tendency to always prioritize one's job over social interactions. The second cause extreme competition is accompanied by frustration and dissatisfaction; tending not to trust people and choosing to be lonely rather than to face the competition. The third cause internal factors include a personal choice, which mainly depends on the individual's personality. Lastly, external factors are those, which force an individual to isolate oneself and might include religious/cultural restrictions, or any kind of change which is not brought about by the individual. A survey with seventeen questions was composed, aimed at teenagers, to find the causes of their alienation. The variable chosen was different high school situations/events (Prom, Student Council elections, juggling school and work etc.). The study, therefore, basically deals with the society's versus the individual's contribution towards alienation and the rationale behind it is to identify alienation and solve its related problems, since it's giving rise to concerning issues such as bullying and other offences. [" I think the biggest problem we have is the amount of alienation and rage in our young people," (Paige, 001)]. Finding out the reasons behind this alienation might bring us one step closer to solving the problems associated with it; this is the main goal of this study.
Method
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In order to test the hypothesis, a survey was conducted. It consisted of 17 questions, most of them being relevant to the topic and two distracter questions. [A copy of the survey is attached to the appendix]. The questions were all multiple choice and it was set up in way that answer a. showed materialistic goals being the cause of alienation; answer b. was about extreme competition; answer c. was about an internal factor; answer d. was an external factor; answer e. was left as a final option "other". The survey was conducted among 40 high school teenagers, the majority being students of Georges Vanier Secondary School (on June , 00). The rest were conducted at Fairview Mall Library (on June , 00), among members of the same age group. While conducting the survey, the students were assured full confidentiality and they were given the option of not completing the survey if they didn't wish to. The topic of survey was not disclosed to ensure genuine responses.
Results
The results are summarized below. Those included here are the ones that closely relate to the hypothesis.
The first question asked how often does he/she feel left out or alone. In response to that, 5% said "all the time"; 17.5% said "most of the time"; 7.5% said "sometimes"; 7.5% said "once in a while" and 1.5% said "never".
To the 5 people who didn't answer "never" to the first questions, the second question asked, "What do you think is the reason for this loneliness? 7.1% said that they were engaged otherwise in school and work and couldn't spend time with their family and friends, which caused them to be lonely at times. 17.1% said that they felt that the people around them were better and instead of getting frustrated by being around them, they'd rather be left alone. 8.6% said that they didn't get along with the people around them. The rest (7.1%) chose other and included reasons such as the people were too fake or formal making them uncomfortable or that they didn't have anything in common with them.
The third question was "Do you feel that sometimes you can't relate to your friends' behaviour?" Out of the 40 people surveyed, 65% said yes to that; 0% said no and 15% didn't know. The next question "why do you think this happens?" included responses from 6 people, 6.% of whom said that their friends were culturally different. 46.% said that those people were not comfortable in doing things that were done as a group. 7.7% said that they were extremely obedient of their parents, which didn't allow them to do certain things and thus alienate themselves. 1.% included other reasons such as they had different personalities or didn't get the jokes etc.
The next question was "Suppose you decided not to go to Prom. What might affect your decision?" A whopping 4.5% said that it was a waste of time and money. 15% said that if they didn't go, the reason would be that they wouldn't look as good as everybody else. 5% said that since all you do there is eat and dance, they wouldn't really enjoy themselves. 7.5% said that a religious, cultural or family restriction might prevent them from going. 10% said that they'd rather go clubbing or watch TV.
The next question was "Was there ever a time that you went to a party and felt lonely? If yes, then why?" 50% people said yes to the first part. Among those people, 5% identified the reason being that they kept on thinking how much studying they have to do after going back home and hence didn't enjoy the party that much. 5% felt that the other guys or girls at the party had a higher popularity status, which made them insecure and alienated. 5% couldn't adapt to the atmosphere. 15% isolated themselves because people were smoking, drinking and gossiping and they wanted no part in it.
When asked whether they try to stay out of romantic relationships or not, 5% said yes; 7.5% said no and 7.5% said sometimes. People who said yes or sometimes (5) were asked the reason for this. 5 said that they had better things to do like focus on their studies to get a well-paid job. 4% said that they couldn't bear a broken heart caused by a third person. 8% said that they'd rather spend more time with family and friends since relationships were a hassle. Lastly, 16% said that it was against their religious or cultural beliefs which is why, they would stay out of a relationship.
The next question was "You decided not to run for a position on your Student Council because" I'd rather focus on my studies to go to a good university and secure a well-paid job (45%); I don't think I can bear losing in the elections (0%); I personally think that I don't have the qualities of a politician (7.5%); people might not vote for me because I am not popular enough and there's no point in embarrassing myself (7.5%). The rest (0%) said that they hated SAC and therefore, would not have anything to do with it.
The next question asked the students to rate themselves from 1 to 5 regarding how social they were. 1.5% rated themselves 1; another 1.5% rated themselves . 7.5% got the rating ; 0% rated themselves 4 and 17.5% rated themselves 5. People who rated themselves 1 and (10 people) were asked why they weren't that social. 0% said that they didn't want to face the popularity contest or competition for power at a party or in a club; 10% said that they didn't get along with the people there which was the main reason for their alienation. The other options were "parties are a waste of time. I'd rather make some money" and "my friends don't like that group, hence I didn't join even if I wanted to".
The next question was "Have you ever missed out on a family occasion or event because of your job?" 1.5% said yes they have because missing out a day of work might hamper their promotion or a raise. 0% said that they have since they would get fire otherwise and it's difficult to get another job. 45% said that no they haven't missed out any family occasion because of their job, since family was more important to them. 7.5% said that they were lucky that a replacement was found and they decided to take a break by attending that occasion. The rest 5% didn't have a job.
The next question was "Feeling lonely is sometimes associated with bigger university or college campuses, but I might choose to go there because" They have a good image which will give me a good job (5%); the competition will make me work harder (0%); I feel that I'll learn more from the different people and resources (7.5%); my parents/teachers/friends are recommending that campus (7.5%). The rest 10% said 'the bigger the better'.
The last question asked was "Suppose you are a new immigrant here in Canada. What might cause you to isolate yourself from the society here?" 5% said that they planned to focus on their studies (the main reason for them to be here) and therefore, would isolate themselves from everything else. 5% said that they didn't think that they would fit in; they would therefore be left alone rather than make a fool out of themselves. 10% didn't want to compromise their values by conforming to a group. 5% said that the people around them might be hostile and that might discourage them to socialize. 5% said that their language barrier would act as the alienating agent.
Discussion
The survey results showed interesting aspects of teen alienation, where some contradictions were detected. This might be because of the high school atmosphere where students want to rush through something that's of least importance like a survey! However, the results more or less seemed to support the hypothesis.
A large percentage of the students said that they felt left out at least once in a while and a comparatively larger portion of the group identified the reason being their hectic schedule, which allows them to spend less time with family and friends. This hectic schedule is directed towards the competition where everyone is trying to win! Majority of the people surveyed said that there were times that they couldn't relate to their friends' behaviour and a little less than half identified the reason being that they were not comfortable in doing certain things that the group does. This contradicts my hypothesis a little, since this is more of a personal reason, that one related to competition or materialistic goals. Half of the students admitted that they had felt left out at a party at least once in their lifetime and quite a large percentage identified the reason being that they couldn't mingle because they thought that the other girls and guys had a higher popularity status. This points to the extreme competition, which might cause an individual to isolate oneself.
Materialistic goals were very prominent when some students said that they would miss out on something as important as their Prom, because it was a waste of time and money, which was the reason for most of them. A few people said that they try to stay out of romantic relationships all the time and some more try to do it sometimes, mainly because they'd rather focus on studying and getting a good job. Others thought that relationships were a hassle- an internal factor (the next leading cause, as shown by the results). About half the students said that they'd rather focus on their studies to secure a well-paid job instead of running for a position on the student council. This shows how teenagers isolate themselves from getting involved and making a change in school, owing to their materialistic goals.
Some people said that they were not very social (those that rated themselves 1 and ). The main reason was that they didn't want to face the popularity contest by joining a club or going to a party (a huge majority). This clearly shows that extreme competition might cause a person to alienate oneself, rather than facing the competition. Even though loneliness is sometimes associated with bigger campuses, a lot of them said that they would go there because of the name, which will get them a well-paid job. This too, points out the materialistic goals of people and how they are contributing to a person's social isolation.
All these results clearly support my hypothesis that materialistic goals and extreme competition are the main reasons for the alienation of an individual as opposed to any internal or external factors. This has been best described in Jain's article Private hells published in 10 where the author says " The corporate world, where the winds of change are blowing even stronger since liberalization become the breeding ground for the virus. The man at the top has built an impenetrable moat around him. Colleagues are more likely to be rivals, if not enemies. We deliberately create our own empire of loneliness." Some scientists say that automatic sorting among athletic and non-athletic students at school (an external factor) might leave the non-athletic boys out in the cold with nicknames like 'geek', 'nerd', 'kooky' or 'uncool'. This ultimately leads to teasing and taunting- one of the ways cliques reinforce themselves (Bowman, 001). However other scientists have observed that "as we approach the limits of our ability to deal with the complexities of life, we begin to experience a state of anxiety and alienation. We tend to approach or avoid. Increasingly we deal with the hyperculture cacophony by cocooning- the cost of such disconnection is a day-to-day lack of civility and humanity." (Carducci, 000). Other studies show that one-fifth of teens in America fall in the "high alienation" category. A significant number of them wish they were somebody else. This lack of sense of belonging leads to suicide or violence. These previous studies only reinforce the hypothesis of this study. These findings are important because by identifying the reasons, social scientists can come up with the solutions to the increasing level of social isolation and help people connect with each other more, by prioritizing social interactions more than their materialistic goals.
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