Our society is based on competitiveness, it's capitalist. The competition we observe with businesses on the stock market has dwindled down on adolescents. In order to be recognized we try our best to stay current with our clothes, speech, and attitude. We become consumed by the masses and as a result we forget how to navigate away from them. In a small group of ten people it becomes difficult to identify ourselves because we all look the same. We are capable of doing something to make ourselves look more unique from the group, but at what cost? We could be cursed with social condemnation because of our choice to be different. We are forcefully compelled to wear certain clothes or speak in such a demeanor that is considered the "norm". Elders ask, "why is it so hard to be yourself"? In response to that question, I would say its not hard at all but I am living in a society that doesn't make it easy.
You are laughed at for being a virgin, you are judged if you don't have a girlfriend/boyfriend, you are talked about if you have too many girls/boys around you. Adolescents have been forced to submit to the principles of everyone else.
I've experienced this situation with a friend of mine from middle school. He was a good friend of mine and we use to tell each other a lot about each other. I was a little bit more mischievous in middle school and a lot of kids in middle school would relate to that more. As a result I gained some popularity. My friend was getting jealous of that and he began to participate in some of the negative endeavors I did just to be on the same standard as I was. First off he was terribly clumsy so he would always get caught. Secondly, because more praise was given for your the negative things you pursued it pushes kids like my friend to do things they would not normally do just to get recognition.
Ultimately the social pressure society is placing on adolescents is making it harder for us to configure who we are as a social being. Nowadays we are motivated to follow in the footsteps of others because of the fear of making footsteps of our own.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Peer Pressure, Insecurities, Social Acceptance and that of the sort
Well it has come to my attention that Mrs. Basi would like to know about our project on "social problems effecting adolescents". Claude, T'Shoy, Gadiel and I decided to focus on peer pressure and it's effect on the youth.
Initially the peer pressure (which I guess you can refer to as the "heading"), was suppose to be a sub-heading for insecurities. But after much debate, we decided to keep peer pressure as the heading because it was a broader category other things could fall under than insecurities which is sort of confined. Peer pressure is really the biggest contributor that effects adolescent behavior.
Adolescents are forced to commit acts in order to impress friends, to keep up with friends, and become situated in a certain group. This behavior derivates from insecurities, social mobility, and prophecies set by the individuals an adolescent chooses to surround himself/herself around (self-fulfilling prophecies).
Our group is really trying to establish that these issues stem from peer pressure, indirectly and directly. It occurs directly through verbal communication, when one of her friends tell you to steal something or they push you try something. An indirect example of peer pressure is if an adolescent hangs with someone that wears expensive clothing or at least acknowledged clothing. The adolescent may be someone who feels insecure about the clothes he/she wears, maybe because their truly raggedy or maybe it is because their clothes aren't recognized as much as their friend's clothing. As a result, the adolescent goes through some drastic measures in order to achieve that paramount his/her is on.
This is just some insight into the direction we are going for our project. In fact our project is much more complex because of all the correlations we are going to make with this study. What intrigues me the most about our project is the underlying moral our presentation has towards society. I do hope that everyone takes the time to understand and then implement the moral we are going to inadvertently teach because it is something that we should try our best to do. Instead of referring to "before" look at the "new". (That was the hint guys...........smh)
Initially the peer pressure (which I guess you can refer to as the "heading"), was suppose to be a sub-heading for insecurities. But after much debate, we decided to keep peer pressure as the heading because it was a broader category other things could fall under than insecurities which is sort of confined. Peer pressure is really the biggest contributor that effects adolescent behavior.
Adolescents are forced to commit acts in order to impress friends, to keep up with friends, and become situated in a certain group. This behavior derivates from insecurities, social mobility, and prophecies set by the individuals an adolescent chooses to surround himself/herself around (self-fulfilling prophecies).
Our group is really trying to establish that these issues stem from peer pressure, indirectly and directly. It occurs directly through verbal communication, when one of her friends tell you to steal something or they push you try something. An indirect example of peer pressure is if an adolescent hangs with someone that wears expensive clothing or at least acknowledged clothing. The adolescent may be someone who feels insecure about the clothes he/she wears, maybe because their truly raggedy or maybe it is because their clothes aren't recognized as much as their friend's clothing. As a result, the adolescent goes through some drastic measures in order to achieve that paramount his/her is on.
This is just some insight into the direction we are going for our project. In fact our project is much more complex because of all the correlations we are going to make with this study. What intrigues me the most about our project is the underlying moral our presentation has towards society. I do hope that everyone takes the time to understand and then implement the moral we are going to inadvertently teach because it is something that we should try our best to do. Instead of referring to "before" look at the "new". (That was the hint guys...........smh)
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