High Pitched Hallways: A cringey interaction that is better off gone

You hear a high pitched “heyyy” and see a smile way too big to be on someone’s face during school hours, and you’re puzzled — what’s meant to be nice and welcoming seems more like a reminder of your place on the high school food chain. The condescending greeting leaves you feeling like a charity case while they carry on to the next person to look down on. 

Personally, I’ve been on the receiving and giving end of this strange interaction. When faced with this belittling exchange, I often wonder why they chose me to be their little pet to show others that they have more friends than just the ones they post on their Snapchat stories every weekend. I’m a high schooler taking AP English, not a third grader looking for help to the bathroom. 

This all too common acknowledgement is most frequently seen in the hallway where you can get more bang for your buck attention wise, but a hello should be for the sake of simply saying hello.

On the giving end, I hardly notice my voice jump three octaves when I blurt out a “hey, what’s up!” to someone I don’t usually talk to in the hallway. It feels natural for my voice to contort to sound nicer than usual to someone who I’m not close with, but I never recognize that I’ve struck a blow at this person’s self confidence.

Although the disrespect isn’t always intentional, it’s a part of high school culture that needs to be improved upon. It’s putting the person you’re talking to in a box, looking down on them and acknowledging that you think they’re under you — and it’s absurdly destructive considering the unofficial caste system that’s taken over not only East, but all high schools. 

On the totem pole of high school social standings, each friend group occupies a level, rarely moving up or down, and we’re reminded of that with each overly-friendly wave. The kids who have the most Instagram followers or go to the most parties usually sit highest on the pyramid of social hierarchy, and from there it makes its way lower and lower on the ‘totem pole.’

It’s hard to find a balance. On one hand, the way I say hello shouldn’t be a big deal, but at the same time, peers should be seen as equals rather than competitors in popularity. And sometimes it’s not even a reminder of your social status. Sometimes it’s just, “Hey! You’re shorter than everyone else so it’s okay if I treat you like a child” or “you’re quiet and introverted so I can say hi to show people I’m friends with the quiet kid.” 

You’d think we could pass by each other in the hallway and address each other like the young adults we are rather than the kids you occasionally babysit on the weekends.

The question is — why do people feel they have the entitlement to talk down to other people?  I’ve come to realize this kind of behavior is most commonly traced back to a narcissistic personality type. They would rather use a public interaction to get attention instead of taking the time to have a conversation deeper than “what’s your favorite color?” 

According to a 2004 study by Science Direct, exploitive entitlement is tied to having low self-esteem and lower levels of social commitment. In other words, those who exploit other people’s company for attention are doing it to boost their self esteem.

When I see this exploitive entitlement in action I can’t help but to cringe at just how uncomfortable the interactions are. It’s hard to tell if the victim is aware of what’s happening, but either way it’s still unbearable to witness. Sure, most of the time, the high-pitched hello is solely for the sake of saying hi to someone. But in other cases, the baby voice and overly enthusiastic tone is a dead giveaway of a normalized condescension that’s past its expiration date.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s no problem with hanging out with new people and having a lot of friends. The problem arises when you use other people for your own benefit and not for the benefit of having a friend.

Lauren Dierks | The Harbinger Online