Peer pressure negatively influences students’ everyday. Many surrender to peer pressure rather than be looked down upon by their schoolmates. Peer pressure comes in many forms. Negative aspects include cutting classes to hang out, drug and alcohol abuse/addiction, and engaging in other risky behaviors. Although there may be negative aspects, peer pressure can also positively influence students through support from family, teachers, and friends.
The main purpose of going to school is to further one's education so that they will succeed in the future. But what is school life without having friends to endure the ups and downs with you? With this in mind, most students look for ways to fit in, or become socially acceptable. Some examples include changing their appearance, the music they listen to, even the company they choose to associate with.
It is often considered that peer pressure is the cause of all negative behaviors associated with teens. However, friends are an important part of development of finding one’s identity as an individual and finding one’s self separate from their family [1]. Friends offer support on a different scale than a family can, especially since most of their time is spent outside of their immediate families. Peers can create a comfortable atmosphere for trying new things than parents/guardians can, and is more likely to be open to new experiences.
One way peer pressure can negatively impact someone is cutting classes to hang out. This can lead to reckless behavior such as experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Some feel that this activity will make them look “cool.” Whether or not they know the consequences of the activity, the only thought running through their minds is “will I be liked more if I do this?” with no thought as to how this will affect them later in life.
Peer influence is not as effective when strong family support is present in the homes of students. However, some students may come from broken homes where familial support is minimal and rebellion and experimentation become appealing. While other factors may play a role in drug addiction and alcohol abuse, statistics show that 82% of teens will try drugs due to peer pressure, and 79% of them lack sufficient parental supervision [3].
Within the years spent in school students will attend parties thrown by either friends or the school itself. In high schools and colleges drinking is definitely considered a social norm.
Studies show that drinking early on in life can not only cause severe liver problems, but also memory lapse and brain erosion. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to the development of brain disorders such as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS), which can lead to learning disabilities,[2] which would be detrimental to students. About "25% of college students report that drinking has caused them to face academic problems such as missing class, late assignments, falling behind, and doing poorly on exams and papers" [4].
Another example of how friends can influence one in is drugs/smoking. You might have friends that are opposed to smoking and drug use in general, they are the reason you refuse a cigarette or some other drug initially, but what if other friends keep persisting that you just try it because “once won’t kill you.” Eventually, the more you continue to “try it” it becomes a habit. Like alcohol, drugs have harmful effects on the brain. They tend to falsely activate neurotransmitters that cause exhilaration and other pleasurable feelings that may last for a short period of time they also leave behind long term effects that cause memory loss and irrational thinking.
With all the ways that negative peer pressure can affect the well being of teenagers, there are ways to prevent them from surrendering. Researchers have noted that one of the most effective ways of preventing teens from peer pressure is family support. Setting up firm boundaries and having regular, open discussions with their children is highly recommended. According to researchers, teens that live in family households that have less rules and uninvolved parents are most vulnerable to falling victim to peer pressure.
1. “Adolescent Mental Health Trainers Guide on Handling Peer Pressure.” 2003. Web. 15 Nov
http://www.searo.who.int/LinkFiles/Technical_documents_Adolecent_Mental_Health_Promotion_Trainers_Guide_on_Handling_Peer_Pressure.pdf
2. “Legal Doesn’t Mean Harmless.” Drugabuse.gov. Web. 17 Nov 2009.
http://www.drugabuse.gov/JSP4/MOD2/Mod2.pdf
3. “Most Americans Say Peer Pressure, a Lack of Parental Supervision, and Accessibility Are Major Factors in Determining Whether a Teenager Tries Illegal Drugs.” Pew Research Center. Web. 23 Nov 2009.
http://www.publicagenda.org/charts/most-americans-say-peer-pressure-lack-parental-supervision-and-accessibility-are-major-factors-determining-whether
4. “Underage Drinking and Drunk Driving Statistics Among College Students.” UMADD. Web. 23 Nov 2009.
http://www.madd.org/docs/college%20statistics.pdf
5 comments:
Your essay is very clear and to the point, which I like. I wanted to bring to your attention a grammatical error "With this in mind, most students look for ways to fit in, or become socially acceptable" I think that you should change acceptable to accepted. I think that would sound a lot better. I like the last picture that says "peer pressure is the enemy of individuality" I think maybe you should use that because that can help you with your argument. That not only does peer pressure influence you in harmful ways but it doesn't allow you to be yourself (I know that its implied but maybe you can incorporate it in some way). I enjoyed your pictures their cute, and also there's too many, so it doesn't overwhelm it. Your first video was really good. I like how you put everything together and the music goes well. The only problem I had is around :25 there's clip of CTV and I couldn't understand what they said. Other than that I like it a lot and it matches your essay perfectly. Your second video looked fun to make, it showed how kids today just pressure others to do things, just by pretending to be their friends . The last video is funny, i love it. It ties the whole thing together and after all that seriousness in the essay, it makes it a little fun. Over all I like your essay, and your topic and its to the point with no sugar coating. Your arguments and counter arguments are present and distinguishable, along with your thesis.
I just wanted to correct something I wrote on my previous comment. Where I said that your pictures are too many, I meant they are not too many.
I thought the song fit very well with the topic in the first video. THe graph can be read and the digital objects were placed in an organized matter. I like how the second video shows what peer pressure can do and how easily one may fall for the "But I'm your best friend" trick.
" According to researchers, teens that live in family households that have less rules and uninvolved parents are most vulnerable to falling victim to peer pressure.">>I'm not quite sure but I believe you have to cite that.
Digital Objects:
To start off I too love the opening picture of your essay (like our professor). Its an adorable way of starting off on a regularly debated and relatively heavy topic of discussion. Your video after your final is great. It is very well edited but I'm not sure if it is necessary to have a title saying 'john doe', maybe it would be better to just leave out a name? The music and the images you include are great.
The second video was funny but the editing was a little choppy. Some of the dialogue was abruptly cut off and also maybe include subtitles when the girl is talking to her parents on the phone?
The graph you have supports the paragraph it follows very well and makes the information easier to visualize and comprehend. The Megan Fox video is a great way to end your paper because it adds a final touch of humor by using a popular celebrity icon.
Paper:
Introduction is clear and concise. Thesis is clearly stated and a few key arguments are mentioned. The rest of your paper is also very well written and organized. " With all the ways that negative peer pressure can affect the well being of teenagers" Change to: with all the ways that peer pressure can negatively affect the well being of teenagers". Also your concluding paragraph doesn't feel like the end of an essay. Try to add a few sentences that sum up your main ideas and arguments just so the reader can easily remember them. This kind of repetition will also help sway people in favor of the opinion portrayed in your essay.
Ariella Aghalarian
The first thing I noticed when reading you paper was that you thesis seems to be that peer pressure negatively affects kids everyday. I don’t feel that is a very effective thesis because peer pressure’s negative effects are obvious, I think you should include in your thesis why something has to be done about it. However, when you go into talking about how there is different forms of peer pressure, it really helps your argument because it shows your audience that it does not only have to do with the usual alcohol, drugs issue. You have many good arguments about how the pressure negatively affects us, but where are your counterarguments; can there really be any? Your thesis should be changed to something like: more steps need to be taken to make teens more aware of peer pressure. Then a counterargument could be: how can you truly prepare teens for something that can effect them in their everyday lives? Other than that, I feel as a whole, your presentation is very effective. I especially like your choices for digital objects. There is a perfect balance between the objects that you created using other people’s work. I especially admire your choice of using the Megan Fox video because you know that she will catch a lot of your audience’s attention and say what you want in a funny way. I feel that once you make the change to your thesis and accommodate your paper to match it, this final has a lot of potential because the effort you put in is evident.
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