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Peer pressure and its effects
Peer pressure and its effects
Peer pressure and its effects
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Zachary Warren Melissa Turner English 111 14 September 2015 Teenage Drinking The consumption of alcohol has been made to look like a fun and enjoyable experience, and teens want to seem cool so they engage in underage drinking. With the dawning of companies going digital, companies, especially alcohol companies, have recently started using television commercials to advertise their products. These commercials portray the drinking of alcohol to be fun and they show people having a good time with friends, which is very appealing to teenagers. The appearance of sex appeal in these commercials and the peer pressure from friends make this act even more attractive to teens. The presence of drinking amongst teen cliques also creates a feeling of peer …show more content…
Amy Bax, a writer for Gaebler Ventures states, “Using sex appeal in advertising is a time-tested technique that will probably be with us forever.” Companies incorporate it into their ads because it grabs the attention of the person watching it. One commercial in particular that demonstrates this type of advertising is a commercial for Dos Equis beer. In these commercials Jonaan Goldsmithth is surrounded by beautiful women who seem to be draped all over him. Many teens might see this advertisement and think that if they are drinking this beer, then they will have a better chance of attracting someone and their possibilities of having sex will increase; to hormone driven teenagers, especially teenage boys, that is a big incentive to …show more content…
During their adolescent years, all teens are looking for a way to fit in with others; being different is not the “cool” thing to do, and if that means drinking alcohol, many teens are willing to do that so they can fit in. In the teenage mind, being a part of something and fitting in is everything, and if “everyone else” is drinking then they feel they need to drink to fit in. Through their eyes, if someone is not a part of some sort of group then there must be something wrong with them, and in many cases, that can lead to bullying and ultimately that person being seen as an object to poke fun at. Data from an Alcohol Alert survey done in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, which was featured in Alcohol Research & Health, showed that: 3/4 of 12th graders, more than 2/3 of 10th graders, and about two in every five 8th graders have consumed alcohol. And when they drink they tend to drink intensively, often consuming four to five drinks at one time. MTF data show that 11 percent of 8th graders, 22 percent of 10th graders, and 29 percent of 12th graders had engaged in heavy episodic or binge drinking within the past two weeks.
Binge drinking is portrayed as a common activity on college campuses. In reality only 43% of students interviewed from a pool of 14,500 said they had binged in the past two weeks; which is less than a majority. If less than
This thought has been held on for far too long. In a consumer-driven society, advertisements invade the minds of every person who owns any piece of technology that can connect to the internet. Killbourne observes that “sex in advertising is pornographic because it dehumanizes and objectifies people, especially women,” (271). Advertising takes the societal ideology of women and stereotypes most kids grow up learning and play on the nerves of everyone trying to evoke a reaction out of potential customers, one that results in them buying products.
Advertisements are all over the place. Whether they are on TV, radio, or in a magazine, there is no way that you can escape them. They all have their target audience who they have specifically designed the ad for. And of course they are selling their product. This is a multi billion dollar industry and the advertiser’s study all the ways that they can attract the person’s attention. One way that is used the most and is in some ways very controversial is use of sex to sell products. For me to analyze this advertisement I used the rhetorical triangle, as well as ethos, pathos, and logos.
Advertisers use whatever they can to attract the reader. From a sexual appealing look to a word. One of the most helpful approaches is sex of course which can capture anyone's attention. The ad for Opium perfume depicts a young brunet that has nicely shaped body and wears nothing but golden slippers, necklace and bracelet. Model is laying down seeming like she is enjoying herself and maybe experiencing orgasm. Again in Dolce & Gabbana ad, we see man and woman having passionate foreplay; with one hand he is pulling her bra strap down while with other touching her breast and she is taking her panties off. In this ad, the naked female body and idea of sex is used to get the image of their product into the reader's memory. "Newsweek wrote: The strategy is that, while the consumer studies the picture, the designer's name melts into the brain. And a big part of the message that was melting in was sexual." (Streitmatter, pp. 123) Anyhow, both ads use sexual attention to grab reader's attention. This is exactly what Calvin Klein had intended he wanted to "make sure, first and foremost, that anyone who was thumbing through the pages of a magazine would stop and look at the ads.
11% of alcohol in the United States is consumed by people from age 12 to 20. Alcohol consumption is very prevalent among high schoolers. 72% of high school students will have had alcohol by the end of high school. Binge drinking is the most common form of alcohol consumption among underage drinkers. 90% of alcohol consumed by people under the age of 21 is consumed by binge drinking. 51% of binge drinkers are 18-20 years old. Some teens that consume alcohol pay for it and others don’t. 30.8% of teens paid for alcohol the last time they drank. 8.3% of those teens bought it themselves and 22% of the teens paid someone else to buy it for them. 37.4% of teens that did not pay for alcohol the last time they drank got it from someone who they are not related to. 21.1% of teens that did not pay for the alcohol got it from an adult relative. About 3 million teens in the United States are
"Young People's Drinking." International Center for Alcohol Policies Meetings & News Press Releases Welcome to ICAP. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. .
Alcoholics that are trapped so deep in the spell of alcoholism are leaving a legacy behind for those who continue to make alcohol companies millions of dollars by ruining their lives, making the wrong investment every time they purchase a bottle of alcohol; to them an “alternative route” to mask any issues they might be encountering at a particular time in their lives, and to those alcohol-making companies they are walking fortunes—walking billboards. Advertisement ads for these products continue targeting not only the already alcoholics, but also targeting underage drinkers. These alcohol-making companies can argue differently and have sworn to not be so focused on targeting people under 21. “Alcohol advertisers have pledged to comply with self-regulatory codes designed to limit t...
Insecurity is another incentive to why students binge drink. Drinking alcohol has been a large part of society for many years. People find that it is easier to meet people when they have been drinking. Drinking has also been used as a way to get close to some one. There are also many social events drinking has created. There are cozy bars “where every body knows your name,” cocktail parties, and the high school favorite, house party.
There are many companies that use sex appeal in their ads today. For instance Victoria Secrets is one of the top sellers in lingerie. They show skin in every one of their ads. All of their models put on the sex appeal for all commercials and magazines. That is what helps them sell. Women look at those ads and see those girls floating on clouds like angels and feel they could feel the same if they wore that purple bra or red underwear. By showing these girls constantly looking sexy in their ads make women feel sexy just wearing them. That is the whole point of using sex in your ads. It?s amazing what a little skin can do. "In advertising, sex sells. But only if you're selling sex (Richards).
Many things can cause teen drinking. One of which could be from lack of parental involvement. If a parent does not involve their time with their teen through schoolwork, friends, work, and/or relationships, that teen may feel the need to turn to alcohol. If that teen feels the need to reach out and talk to someone, and that someone being the parent who is not there for them, they might just want to drink away their problems. Another cause could be due to the lack of community activities and organizations. Such activities could be sports, dance, or just going out and meeting new people. One of the most dramatic causes, I feel, is misplaced emotions and not dealing with them. From what I hear my friends say, they want to drink away their sorrows. Other causes to teen drinking could be peer pressure, wanting to “fit in” with the crowd, or just lack of adult supervision and having the urge to experience. Al...
One article that covers the results of a national survey states that ¡§Adolescents¡¦ levels of alcohol and drug use have been found to be strongly associated with peers¡¦ use. However, other studies have shown that a student¡¦s drinking was more strongly influenced by how much he or she thought close friends drank than by perceptions of the extent of use by students in general¡¨(Results 2). This is a statement that I can agree with because growing up I have watched many young people become greatly influenced by their friends. Now a days the phrase ¡§peer pressure¡¨ concentrates on pressure from a direct group of friends rather than a students peers as a whole. Another reason the article gives for the cause of Binge Drinking is that ¡§Students who perceive that more drinking occurs than actually does provide themselves with an excuse for drinking more because ¡¥everyone is doing it¡¦¡¨ (Results 2). Everyone knows that most youngsters want what every other kid has, this idea relates in the...
Let’s ask a question: why do people start using alcohol at the first place? And why they start doing it at such young age? Well, just “like other adult drinkers, college students expect alcohol to produce a series of positive effects – relaxation, socialization, sexuality – and the strength of these positive expectancies is related to drinking” (Walters & Baer, 2006). And who wouldn’t take a couple drinks to gain a group of friends? It lowers social inhibitions, so it is very well known among shy individuals as well. However, this activity can be also pressurized by peers. In this case, pressure wouldn’t be effective on people who do not accept or see positive aspects of occasional drinking. That means, everyone starts by saying ‘yes’ to a glass.
We live in a society that drinks heavily, and this influences teens. Most Americans use alcohol to celebrate wedding anniversaries, to welcome the New Year, and to enjoy many other special events. Alcohol is a legal drug for people over the age of twenty-one. By the time most teens reach senior high school, nearly all will have faced a choice about whether or not to take a drink. Although this drug is illegal for teenage use a large percentage of teens use alcohol. Many teens die in automobile accidents, which could have prevented if they had chosen to say no. Each year it is blame in the deaths of more than four thousand teens (Claypool, p. 42). No crime kills more teenagers in America. Kids who are drinking regularly in high school seem to be fully aware of the penalties and laws against underage drinking, possession but don't care. They agree that driving while intoxicated is a key role in fatal car accidents, yet they still do it. Many teens also believe cold showers and coffee can sober up a person that is drunk Teens may drink for many different reasons. A big reason for teens to start to drink is because of problems in their family life. Teens could have a bad relationship with their parents or their parents could get in a fight or even get a divorce and this could cause a drinking problem among their child. Many experts agree that the main reason teens are becoming alcoholics is low self-esteem. Sometimes these children have been neglected or abused which makes them feel unwanted or they have been pressured and feel worthless if they fail. They have to deal with problems that he is too immature to handle, or worries about problems, which are problems at all. Many kids drink to make them feel older and mature. It makes you ...
In today’s world, advertising reaches and influences teens in both negative and positive ways. Teens are bombarded with ads through television, teen magazines, radio, and the internet. Advertisers know teen’s buying power and their willingness to spend their money. Many companies even hire teens to be “consultants” and trendspotters. They want to know what teens are thinking and their likes and dislikes. Some feel this is a good thing and that teens are letting companies know what they want. On the other hand, many believe all this advertising to teens has a negative impact on them. Ads show models with “perfect” bodies. “Every year, the average adolescent sees over 5,000 advertisements mentioning attractiveness” (Haugen). Some feel this leads to teens having low self-esteem, while others argue that it does not have an effect. These people believe teens have the power and control in the advertising world.
There are a number of reasons why teenagers feel the urge to drink. Social environment, peer influence, stresses, and even factors such as media influence contribute to underage drinking. Peer pressure is as well known use among teens. Americans have a burning desire to be accepted and liked by their peers. Everyone wants to feel a sense of belonging. Many adolescents feel that they need to drink alcohol to gain this acceptance by the others around them. Stress is also another reason why teens may feel apt to drink alcohol. Stress causes teenagers to look for a quick escape from the problems, which they face, in their day-to-day lives. This quick escape can be found in the shape of a bottle. In the eyes of an underage drinker, alcohol is the cure to all problems, a way to forget all of stress and pressures that are facing them. They feel that it will numb their pain and continuing to use alcohol will result in maybe another problem, substance abuse.