Peer Pressure

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