Being a teenager in today’s society is challenging; everyone wants to
feel a sense of belonging and acceptance.
Unfortunately, in order to fulfill these qualities, adolescents often
feel forced to participate in activities outside of their moral
guidelines. In other words, we, as
teenagers, are exposed to a great deal of peer pressure.
There is obviously no good that results from peer pressure; with it
comes bad decision making, bad habits, deteriorating health, and, all in all, dire
consequences. Statistics indicate that
about thirty percent of teens are offered drugs as early as middle school, approximately
seventy-four percent of teens in high school have tried alcohol, roughly 3.1
million teens smoke, and about fifty percent of all teens feel pressured to have
sex.
With the opinion of others weighing so heavily on the behavior of today’s
youth, there is no way to completely avoid the negativity of peer pressure;
however, I feel that with a strong relationship with either parents or other
positive role models, there is a way to help curve this epidemic. With guidance, achievable goals, interaction
with productive, positive influences, and open communication, today’s youth
will have the foundation for good decision making abilities. With these traits, I feel like the youth of
today’s world can live above the influence of peer pressure.
Sources:
http://www.familyfirstaid.org/peer-pressure.html
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.darnell/peer_pressure
http://blog.teenhelp.com/2011/12/peer-pressure-statistics-and-peer-pressure-facts.html
