What is the obsession with high school as a setting?

[ratscout]

I dunno. I've just been thinking a lot about this lately, but why are so many webnovels/comics so obsessed with high school as a setting? I genuinely want to know since I was homeschooled and never had to deal with high school. XD Do people just find teenagers interesting--or is there just something about the relationships people form in high school that sticks with them? Please explain, I am curious!

[KoreanTacos]

Because high school is that coming to age period in most peoples lives. It's that stepping stone toward adulthood while still remaining in the innocence of childhood.

[ISNEKO]

Young audience. Relationship drama.

I guess.

[baasinsimple]

While some of it is drawn from high school anime and some of it is demographics, I think most of it is because, High school is an experience most people hated, and the final years of growth before entering adulthood and being strained by the typical systems in place since primary school, and it's such of a tough time for most people it become the perfect place for drama. Write what you know, right?

[frostdrive]

Korean Tacos has the right answer.

also it's because most people have gone to high school, and can relate.

[ratscout]

I see. That makes sense. It's just kinda funny to me because everytime one of my peers in college tells me about it they say it was a horrible time in their lives. XD

[ratscout]

This seems a likely reason. XD Gotta appeal to them demographics!

[MariMontoya]

Stick a bunch of kids who came from diverse backgrounds and ways of life, some (not all) with raging hormones in a building. Trying to be like an adult while still kids. Formation of deeper friendships than in childhood. Copious amounts of drama since they're stuck with each other for like 8ish hours. Of course it's not all highly dramatized like it's in books and movies, but I guess for some part it's the wish or the thought that it was or will be a magical/memorable experience with first loves, first dances, first games, parties, and figuring out life, etc., etc.
That's what I think

[shazzbaa]

hmmmmmmmmmmm some guesses

• easy way to target that age group
• on Tapas specifically I suspect it's lots of teenagers writing things and writing their own experience, since while you're in school it's harder to imagine what the life after it is like
• it's a relatable experience for many folks that doesn't require a lot of research -- if you write about the adventures of a group of lawyers you gotta research what things are like in a law firm and what it's like to be a lawyer. Everyone knows what math class is like.
• easy way to bring disparate kinds of people together, since everyone's sort of forced to be there. You end up with a big variety of characters and a lot of excuses for them to interact on a regular basis. Also, classes and extracurriculars provide, again, some easy characterisation without too much research -- "character loves math & science class" is less challenging to write than "character is an astrophysicist"
• being a teenager is a lot, and you feel everything so strongly; you can make technically low stakes stories (WILL HE ASK ME TO PROM?) with really high stakes feelings b/c when you're a teen it's easy to feel like failing a class or missing an audition or getting rejected is the actual end of the world

• the thing others have mentioned about this being a Coming Of Age, a point in your life where a lot of people start Becoming Their Own Person. (I don't write about highschool specifically, but I'd be lying if I said my highschool experiences didn't still influence my work 13 years later, because those times were a huge turning point for me as a person)

• on top of all of this, the fact that there's a lot of highschool content out there already, so it's easy for creators to absorb that and start from that point almost as a default. Wanna do a slice of life story? Your brain immediately suggests: maybe they're all in highschool then! Because it's seen that pattern so many times before. That doesn't necessarily mean it's bad, but it's easy for some genres to default to, I think.

[Hodge]

huh, I just thought creators liked it because there were so many pre-made assests for the high school setting. Didn't know readers enjoyed it that much as well.

[Luminosophy]

During the anime/ manga boom, the majority of that audience were teenagers. Teens were in a unique position where they had lots of disposable income from having part time jobs but no bills to consume it all. A lot of companies honed in on that by utilizing highschool as the setting. I think just from there on the trend propagated, since there's always a new gen of teens in highschool. It's proven to be one of the most profitable story settings time and time again.

[punkarsenic]

• almost-universal setting. besides homeschoolers like yourself, everyone has a distinct experience of highschool and is familiar with its layout
• lots of youngers making webnovel and webcomics. they know no other life.
• a good setting to mingle a lot of characters coming of age at the same time with lots of meeting opportunities for ppl
• lots of tropes and structures and that to draw from
• but mainly like. this is literally all a lot of young writers know

[A-weird-girler]

young writers also know kindergarten, so it would be kind of funny if someone wrote a story of a 5 year old out to kick ass

[punkarsenic]

ponyo

[A-weird-girler]

Ahhhh I loved that movie! It also got really popular here for some reason. There were ponyo backpacks, keychains wallets, knockoff book covers, even dresses! Actually I think I still might have one of those,.... sadly the craze died out

[punkarsenic]

maaaad. it never got that popular here, but i think its the only ghibli movie i ever got to see in the cinema

[A-weird-girler]

Oh that's too bad. I remember I wanted to go to the cinema but it cost too much so I got a friend to record it that might be the only crime I ever committed in my life lol. But of course my parents let it slide because 1) I was 9 and 2) there aren't any strong laws against piracy which is why there were so many knockoff book covers in the first place

[GalacticPotato]

I think a lot of the times it's just wish fullfilment, either for the author or the readers. I mean, who wouldn't like to go to a super power high school where you're the chosen one and go on adventures instead of boring regular school where you're buillied for wacthing anime?
It's not totally wrong to do it for that reason and i think the setting can be done for other reasons too, but yeah.

[punkarsenic]

fair enough lol. when i was growing up there was a tv channel that would have ghibli seasons every summer, so we recorded them all from there lol

[ratscout]

You make it sound sooooo magical 0u0~! But then, you are a writer, teehee. Honestly, I probably would have been that weird chick who ate their lunch in the bathroom and would have been completely ignorant of any parties going on LOL.