The Identity Crisis of Name Tags

Originally posted: Sunday, August 19, 2007 6:29pm

This morning approximately 430 high school freshman boys and girls gathered for a retreat day on the campus of the school at which I teach. I was one of a few charged with handing out name tags and directing kids to the appropriate section of the gym for the initial greeting and address by the Principal. It was an interesting job on many levels, but I was quickly and profoundly aware of how much 14 year olds (and the rest of us, I suppose) do NOT like to wear name tags. And I wondered why this is.

Kid after kid would approach the table, mumble a name, and look completely broken when issued the sticky little rectangle. A few asked, "Do I have to wear this?" I remember the same sense of embarrassment. Is it a desire for anonymity within the crowd? Is it the sting of being known or not being known? If I have to wear a name tag, that means you don't already know me--shame on you!

For girls, the problem is apparently two-fold as customary name tag placement is somewhere in the chest area. For adolescent girls in an almost constant state of social panic, drawing attention to the chest as a method of identification is a horror in and of itself. Thus, many girls chose to adhere the sticker to their hips, legs, stomachs, shirt sleeves--pretty much anywhere except the chest and forehead.

At my last high school reunion, my friends and I (who had been substantially pre-partying before arrival) thought it would be funny to put other alums' names on our chest. In this particular case, I labeled myself with the name of an African-American male classmate. Since most of us had been to school together for 13 years, and no one seemed to have had massive reconstructive surgery since we graduated, I did not understand the need for name tags. Perhaps it was a socially graceful decision made on behalf of the spouses who would not know people and would have a difficult time understanding a somewhat slurred Kaaatthhyyrn Dundiadaosjfof. Or maybe the reunion organizers felt that spouses should not be singled out with the name tags (wasn't high school cliquey enough?!).

In any case, whenever there are name tags there is some measure of social anxiety. Sure, in a situation where people would be unfamiliar enough with others that name tags would be necessary, the social context itself would incur some measure of discomfort. But there is a special kind of anxiety brought on by the name tags themselves--embedded in the act of identifying oneself with a posted sign--and I thought it was past time I should bring it to light.