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The effect of peer pressure
Effects of peer pressure on adolescents
The effect of peer pressure
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Adolescent teens worry about not fitting in. Most teens will do almost anything to feel apart of a group. Others, just try to not stand out. These kids will just blend in with the crowd and go with the flow. I feel as if teens worry more about fitting in than standing out. Adolescence is all about teenagers trying to fit in. Adolescent teens spend most of their time worrying about their appearance and how they act to try to fit in with others. Most of them on things that they, “like,” just to be accepted by others. Many teens, compare themselves to each other and they really shouldn’t do that. I know that most teenagers try to fit in with the group, but they should really just have fun and be themselves. Sometimes, teens will try to act as if they are apart of a higher social class than what their family is, when in reality, they are both in the same social structure. For example, in the documentary, (People Like Us), Tammy’s son, Matt, try’s to make himself look cooler at school so he can fit in and not be apart of his family’s social class. Kids should not do this. They should ju...
Confusion, adolescents are on a journey for who they really are, what they believe in, and where do they fit in. Stuck in between a child and an adult, this stage can prove dramatic at times. With awkward changes through puberty and social environments in school, no wonder adolescents have that uncomfortable feeling Erikson refers to. DJ depicted an adolescent uncomfortable in her own skin while worrying too much about what others thought. A group of cheerleaders told her she had to lose weight to get in, consequently, DJ began to eat less and exercise more until she passed out at the gym.
Teenagers enter into adolescence feeling insecure and unsure of themselves. They desire to fit in and belong. If they don't, they see themselves as abnormal. Children seek to become independent from their parents and immerse themselves in their own social environment during adolescence. According to Psychologist Erik Erikson “Peer groups fulfill the adolescent’s need for validity and acceptance and provide space and opportunity for exploration and experimentation.” This is likewise to the Protagonist Tracy because in order for her to get Evies acceptance she stole a purse from an old lady and afterwards went on a shopping spree. Tracy explored and experimented many things with her new found peer group however, from there, it all spirals down as Tracy experiences and responds to a variety of pressures and situations not uncommo...
This film contains some classic examples of the kinds of real life issues adolescents deal with. Issues such as popularity, peer relationships, family/sibling relationships, sex, and struggles with identity are all addressed in this ninety-minute film.
When life becomes overwhelming during adolescence, a child’s first response is to withdraw from the confinement of what is considered socially correct. Individuality then replaces the desire to meet social expectations, and thus the spiral into social non-conformity begins. During the course of Susanna’s high school career, she is different from the other kids. Susanna:
As preteens and teens push for increasing independence from their parents, they tend to turn to their peers for guidance, acceptance, and security. For those who are low in self-esteem and confidence, their safety lies in fitting in and having a place to belong. Most people find a group in which they connect with in a healthy way while others make their way in cliques that give them security but at the price of their own values and individuality. The movie Mean Girls portrays how high school female social cliques operate and the effect they can have on girls. I will argue how if one doesn’t have a strong sense of self-identity, the opinions of others will become their identity.
Conformity means a change in one’s behavior due to the real or imagined influence of other people. As a teenager, the pressure to conform to the societal “norm” plays a major role in shaping one’s character. Whether this means doing what social groups want or expect you to do or changing who you are to fit in. During class, we watched films such as Mean Girls, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and The Breakfast Club which demonstrate how the pressure to conform into society can change who you are. In the movies we have seen, conformity was most common during high school.
Lastly, we look at identity without knowing it adolescents are searching for the answers to the question, “who am I?”. Although this is an important part of development for this stage it didn’t just being in this stage nor do adolescents have the capability to figure it all out. While growing up children are pushed one way or another by parents and peers some are pushed towards academics while others athletics. But how influential are parents and peers?
Is adolescence really about fitting in or not standing out? Do you have any responsibility to those students who do not fit in? Do you hear that? Hush, and listen closely. Do you hear it now? The cries for help of the kids who don’t fit in with the crowd. The cries aren’t always loud. Sometimes they don’t make a sound. Stop and listen to them. Take responsibility for those kids and stand up for those kids who won’t stand up for themselves.
I am a Japanese-American, growing up I never felt like I belonged in either one. I never felt that I was fully Japanese because I did not have all of the same beliefs and traditions as other Japanese people. Nor did I feel fully American because I fully do not believe in all of the American beliefs. I saw myself relating more to the Japanese culture because it taught me to be more respectful to my elders and other people in the community. Growing up I had to assimilate to the prevailing culture because people were bantering me because I had unusual views than they did. It was hard for me growing up; I was trying to identify myself as either a Japanese boy or an American boy while I was at school and at home. At school I had to be this normal American boy, while at home, I had to be a Japanese boy. I felt like two different people. This also tied into me having an awkward relationship with other kids my age especially the girls. I would ask my parents if it was okay for me to date, their response was “as long they are some sort of Asian, then it is okay.” Today my parents do not believe in that saying, they just want to see me in high spirits, but as I was growing up it was hard for me to find a girl that I liked that fit my family standards I always found myself fond of another race other than my own and my parents were not too thrilled with the choices I made when it came to girls when I was an adolescent.
Adolescent years are a time period in a human beings life where we search for a place that we are most comfortable. It is a time where we try to find friends with similar interests and those who will easily accept us for who we are. Once we are accepted by those friends, we tend to do more things with hopes of getting approval from “the group.” Trying to fit in during adolescence is a significant factor for self-motivation because it determines the level of being accepted and popularity amongst our peers. Through our year of adolescence we experiment and try to discover oneself as a person, but we also find what our strongest traits are that are used in order to be accepted, or to feel more popular. Popularity is defined as a state of being liked or accepted by a group of people (cite). As the group of people gets larger, so does that person’s popularity. For some people, popularity may come easy due to their charisma or looks, but there are those children who feel lonely due to their lack of popularity.
Lynda remembered her adolescent years as a time of many changes, “high school was a roller coaster, and I think it is for every teenager. I had so many different clothing and hair styles; even friends moved on frequently, you realize you’re not into the same things.” Peer relationships plays a very important role in this stage of development as the adolescent tries to answer the question “Who am I?” The adolescent is making a search for identity, they are experimenting and they begin to realize things about themselves that help them form an idea of who they are and what they want in life. According to Erikson, healthy resolution of the earlier conflicts now serves as a foundation in the teenager’s search for an identity. A strong sense of self-control and feeling of independence is the result of a positive resolution of this stage. Unsuccessful resolution of this life stage will lead to what Erikson called role confusion; these individuals will lack a feeling of self, they may drift from job to job and jump from one relationship to another, not knowing what they really want in
Most popular kids engage in a school sport which makes them well known and liked throughout their social atmosphere, not only by their peers, but by their teachers as well. Many outcast do not engage in these acts of physical teams like sports, but rather in other institutions such as a culture, theater, and various academic clubs. These tend to be labeled “uncool” and separate these kids from other students. Their “abnormal” interests, that vary from the conventional athletics, can make them looked down upon and questioned by others. Having these preferable extracurricular activities is normal, yet these kids tend to be misunderstood by the jocks who don’t have a particular preference to these clubs. Based on the same survey from stageoflife.com, interests are the second leading cause of teens feeling inferior to their peers at 49% (stageoflife.com). Also, “63% of teens say that their appearance is an important factor in their identity” (stageoflife.com). Kids feel that their ability in activities causes them to subordinate to others. Teens are often judged for these interests which should not happen since their enjoyments are irrelevant to popularity
"Why fit in when you were born to stand out?" This quote was said by Dr. Seuss, the great poet himself. Dr. Seuss stood out and people loved him for it. If you stood out people would love you for it too. The corporate world commends and honors people who stand out.
Teenagers often find themselves going through the motions of doing what they are told when they are told to do it. In conforming to societies norms teenagers begin to feel as if they blend in and nothing is really special about them. John Updike was able to write a coming of age story in which his main character Sammy gets shoved into adulthood rather quickly over spontaneous decision. Through Sammy’s thoughts, intense observations, and his actions we are able to see his deep depravity and his longing to stand out from the crowd.
The teenage years are a time when adolescents try out various personas, often trying out different styles of fashion. Adversaries argue that uniforms suppress an individual’s freedom of expression. However, the clothes that people wear, or can afford to wear, often classify the group by which they are acknowledged. As a result, many teens are outcast due to the fact that they cannot afford the latest trends in clothing. This rejection can lead to a number of problems for the outcast teen: depression, inability to focus on schoolwork, or just a general feeling of inferiority. School uniforms put everyone on the same level. According to Karin Polacheck (1995), “Uniforms help to create balanced diversity by alleviating racial and cultural tensions and encouraging values of tolerance and civility.” School Uniforms permit students to relate with one another without experiencing the socioeconomic barrier that non-uniform schools generate. More importantly, students are not criticized on how much they spent on clothes or how fashionable they look, but rather for their talents and their