Revenge of the Nerds: Most Geeks Well Adjusted

"If you don't feel good about yourself and other people don't feel good about you, it's like double jeopardy," said Nadine Kaslow, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and chief psychologist at Emory University in Atlanta.

"It becomes a vicious cycle and makes you feel even worse about yourself and two things are likely to happen -- you'll get more depressed or you'll get more angry," she said.

Some experts pointed out that teens who are faring the worst socially shouldn't be viewed by their parents or teachers as simply putting too much stock in the importance of popularity. Rather, their social insecurities could be a reflection of a much larger self-esteem problem.

Jeffrey Brown, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital, said that parents and teachers of children who are struggling socially in high school should encourage the teen to find a place that they fit in outside of school.

"Connecting with a trusted school counselor or psychologist, learning a new skill or developing a natural talent, investing in community activities or donating personal time to a special cause are all ways that one can uncover the personal value that they possess," Brown said.

Moreover, experts stressed the danger of seeking popularity over close-knit and meaningful relationships, which truly allow teens to grow as people and become familiar and comfortable with themselves.

"The way you think about and perceive yourself is connected to many necessary factors of being healthy: confidence, intimacy, motivation, forgiveness, resilience and so on," Brown said. "Social success should not be measured only by popularity, but by other social factors in relationships like give-and-take reciprocity, integrity, cooperation, loyalty and communication. These factors are far more useful in adult life."

Finding a Niche

In order to teach adolescents to care less about popularity and more about being comfortable in their own skin, many experts stressed that teens should be encouraged to seek validation from extracurricular activities rather than from the popular group at school.