Popularity
Popularity is the quality of being well-liked or
common.
Popularity figures are an important part of many people's personal
value systems, and forms a vital component of success in people-oriented fields such as
politics.
The term's earliest use in English was during the fifteenth century in law and politics, meaning "low", "base", "vulgar", and "of the common people" till the late eighteenth century by which time it began to mean "widespread" and gain in positive connotation. (Williams 1985)
Many different variations of popularity exist, and many ways in which to gain it. General popularity usually involves
respect in two directions: the popular person is respected by his
peers, and will simultaneously show
them respect, thus reinforcing their belief that he is deserving of his popularity. Likewise, amicability is an important component of popularity, as a person who does not like others is unlikely to be liked by others. This reciprocal nature of interpersonal popularity is often overlooked by people (particularly the young) who are attempting to become popular: being
loud or a
show-off may be successful in gaining
attention, but is unlikely to provide the necessary mutual respect characteristic of "true popularity".
Humor may also be a viable means of increasing one's popularity, as there are few people in the world who do not warm to somebody who amuses them. However if taken too far this
strategy can result in one being seen as a
clown or
buffoon, who ends up laughed
at rather than laughed
with, and who misses out on the crucial component of respect.
*
Popular*
Populism*
Popular culture*
Popular music*
Popular girl *
Mass media*Hassabian, Anahid (1999). "Popular",
Key Terms in Popular Music and Culture, eds.: Horner, Bruce and Swiss, Thomas. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0631212639.
*
Williams, Raymond (1985).
Keywords: a Vocabulary of Culture and Society. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195204697.
