Adolescent social status is one of the only things teens and younger kids have control over. Human beings naturally try to control aspects of their lives so it makes sense that when a person is young, and the only thing they can control is social status, that they would be obsessively consumed by that aspect of life. It is also important because social status is what defines you when your in a school environment. Even on top of that social status is a indicator of how many people like you and a lot of kids care highly about who does and doesn't like them.