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Negative consequences of peer pressure
Negative consequences of peer pressure
Negative consequences of peer pressure
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When you were younger, did your parents and teachers always encourage you to express yourself and that it’s okay to be different? Not a lot of people seem to realize it, but as children grow up, the amount of pressure to blend in grows, too. In schools all over the U.S., innocent students get ridiculed just because they are unique and stand out from the crowd. In the book, “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, the main character, Melinda experiences something similar to this type of bullying, otherwise known as peer pressure. Melinda was just a normal girl who loved her friends, until the night she attended a summer party where alcohol was being served. Her friends were all drinking, so Melinda thought she was supposed to as well, and a senior
Throughout the passages, Laurie Halse Anderson establishes the Central Idea through the use of Characteristics and Imagery, revealing that the loudest words are the ones that aren’t spoken.
The plot of the book, Speak is that Melinda Sordino, a freshman at Merryweather High went to an end of the summer party with some of her friends. Things take a turn for the worst when a senior named Andy Evans sexually assaults her at the party without her friends knowing about it. Melinda is frightened, afraid, and does not know what to do so she calls 911 busting the party, and causing her friends and everyone at that school to hate her, even if they don’t know her.
One in 10 young Americans has committed an act of sexual violence (Freleng). Rape is a serious issue that negatively affects the victim and their family. Rape is when someone sexually touches another person without their consent. This most commonly happens to women but men
Bernice, from the short story “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”, is no different from the average teenager in almost any society around the world. Bernice is pressured and is trying to fit into a society that she feels uncomfortable in. When she does conform and change and begins to feel semi-comfortable, the tables turn and people are challenging her sincerity. No matter if she sticks to what she knows or conforms to those around her, someone is still unhappy with her. Bernice is not a social girl. She never really had any friends. The people she considered her friends back home were only around her because she had money. When she goes to stay with her cousin, Marjorie, Bernice is unpopular and it makes her seem insecure. “Bernice felt a vague pain that she was not at present engaged in being...
Is adolescence really about fitting in or not standing out? Do you have any responsibility to those students who do not fit in? Do you hear that? Hush, and listen closely. Do you hear it now? The cries for help of the kids who don’t fit in with the crowd. The cries aren’t always loud. Sometimes they don’t make a sound. Stop and listen to them. Take responsibility for those kids and stand up for those kids who won’t stand up for themselves.
Everyone has faced moments when they are afraid to speak up, and Melinda is no exception. However, you cannot let fear or anxiety hold you back from speaking out. In Speak, a novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson, we see this laid out in an interesting way—Melinda doesn’t have the courage to speak for most of the novel, and we see the consequences; however, by the end of the novel, she finally gets the courage to speak up. She shows the theme of not fearing to speak up through the relation between Melinda and Andy. Andy is a student went to an end-of-the-summer party where he raped Melinda. Melinda called the cops and even though they did arrive, Andy was not arrested, and now, everyone at school hates her. Since then, she has been afraid
The book Speak by Laurie Anderson is about how Melinda Sordino--- an “outcast” girl overcome the trouble in her life, her growth in mind and how she learned to speak up for herself.
When growing up, we go through a lot of different phases in life. There is this one phase in life where one always acts impulsively, another where one just does not know what to do, and a last phase where one looks at life with new eyes and with maturity. Just like everyone else, Melinda Sordino, a ninth grader in Laurie Halse Anderson’s book, Speak, went through this experience after a traumatic assault at an end-of-the summer party. By looking at Melinda’s innocence at the beginning of the novel, struggles in the middle of the novel and the maturity at the end of the novel, it is evident that Speak is a coming of age novel.
As an individual stuck amidst a foundation known for its propensity to breed social congruity, college has opened my eyes to numerous distinctive reasons why individuals decide to act in ways they wouldn't regularly act. Since they ordinarily aren't certain of their character, adolescents are more inclined to similarity than others. In the most essential structure, college is tormented with congruity through the generalizations that learners seek after and explore different avenues regarding trying to uncover their personality. There are two sorts of Conformity: the kind that makes you do your errands when your father authorizes you to, and the less than great kind in which you aimlessly take after the thoughts and tenets of an inner circle or gathering, without addressing the negative impacts it has upon yourself and the improvement of whatever remains of public opinion. Conformity is basic in that people strive for a feeling of strength and acknowledgement in their lives. As a result of this need, “we therefore figure out how to fit in with principles of other individuals. What's more the more we see others carrying on in a certain manner or settling on specific choices, the more we feel obliged to stick to this same pattern.” Despite the freedoms we are supposed to have in American society most adolescents find it difficult to have their own identity.
Peer pressure is described as the influence one may feel from an individual or group to do something that he/she may not otherwise consider doing. Is it really difficult to be unique, and stand out from the crowd? Many adolescents have difficulties straying from the so called rebellious teen stage. This is because their emotions run high. Teens think of the consequences of being rejected by their peers, such as embarrassment and shame. These two negative emotions instantly set in the minds of teens. As a result, they become subject to such pressures seen throughout their community and schools. Although peer pressure is not always negative; it is, however, mostly perceived as a negative option of influence. Positive influences between peers are rarely talked upon or praised. Adolescents become acquainted with sex, drugs, fashion, relationships and so on. Many are pressured into such things from the company or friends they keep. Peer pressure has a vast amount of influence from the desire to be accepted, popularity and image and through the media.
As preteens and teens push for increasing independence from their parents, they tend to turn to their peers for guidance, acceptance, and security. For those who are low in self-esteem and confidence, their safety lies in fitting in and having a place to belong. Most people find a group in which they connect with in a healthy way while others make their way in cliques that give them security but at the price of their own values and individuality. The movie Mean Girls portrays how high school female social cliques operate and the effect they can have on girls. I will argue how if one doesn’t have a strong sense of self-identity, the opinions of others will become their identity.
On August 19, 1992 in Houston, Texas, Mary Fisher, the HIV-positive daughter of prominent Republican fundraiser Max Fisher, gives her keynote speech “A Whisper of Aids” to the Republican National Convention (1). Fisher’s purpose is “to lift the shroud of silence which has been draped over the issue of HIV/AIDS” epidemic (1). Fisher succeeds in her overall persuasiveness by effectively using ethos, logos, and pathos throughout her address to the conservative Republican Party to advocate for awareness, education, and the prevention of HIV/AIDS.
"The ugly reality is that peer pressure reaches its greatest intensity at just the age when kids tend to be most insensitive and cruel." -- Walt Mueller, Understanding Today's Youth Culture
Peer pressure plays a big role in a teenager’s life. It’s hard at times to ignore peer pressure which can lead a teen into following “friends”. According to an article, “Helping Your Teen Handle Peer Pressure’’ by Westside Gazette, Gazette explains many reasons why teens submit to peer pressure that causes negative outcomes. One reason is because a teen may lack self-concept. In high school everyone tries to fit it with the “crowd”, no one wants...
Why do young adults believe that they need to follow the actions of other young adults to make them feel accepted in society? Because young adults have always had a difficult time learning how to fit into society, many young adults turn to other teens to make them feel popular or accepted. Unfortunately, peer pressure has become a huge factor in many young adult’s lives. Some teens tend to turn to drugs or alcohol because many of their friends are smoking or drinking also. In addition, peer pressure causes many teenagers to follow the wrong path, but it also impacted teenager’s lives in positive ways. For example, young adults experience peer pressure reflected in smoking, partying, and academic performance.