Essay On Peer Pressure

There is no other influence in a teenager’s life as powerful as peer pressure. As adolescents, many face a challenging decision of whether to do things that they may not want to do. They often feel the necessity to conform to the social standards set by their peers. There are numerous of reasons why many feel compelled to comply. Some may give into peer pressure out of curiosity, and others may give in for the satiation of being part of a group. However, peer pressure can be a virulent factor of an unhealthy youth. Peer pressure involving teenagers impacts their psychological attributes and how it reflects on to their social life.

Peer pressure can affect teenagers throughout many aspects of their lives. One of the most prevalent subjects of peer pressure is religion. Americans are given the rights to choose one’s own religion, or not to choose one at all. Although religion is one’s free will, “many of the teenagers believe in God because their friends and family do so. They are afraid to contradict them and find out the truth for themselves” (“Faith as Fashion” 1). Many teenagers fear to assert their opinions on choosing their own religions. The fear of negligence obliterates their opportunity to express their personal religious beliefs. Most adolescents are fenced by the trepidation of contradiction, which psychologically place them in a state of anxiety.

Not only the adolescents, who are told to follow a certain religion, feel oppressed , but also “the students who consider themselves agnostic or atheist sometimes feel a sense of tension being surrounded by religious students” (Hanford 1). In fact, “a high school junior, Patrick Ludgate, said that other students who consider themselves atheist like himself makes him feel wel...

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...in scans revealed that the first time the teenagers heard a song, regions associated with reward and pleasure were activated” (Haslett 1). This examination proves that teenagers do not think of their personal preference toward a type of music but how they think of how others would like the song.

Various kinds of peer pressure affect teenagers in many different ways. It causes teenagers to carry out certain actions that they do not wish to do nor need to do. In some other cases, the pressure causes adolescents to execute performances that are not morally correct in order to surpass others. Additionally, peer pressure forces teenagers to do things that others wish them to do. As peer pressure becomes more powerful in society, more self identity is being lost. Peer pressure is an extremely harmful factor in teenagers’ life because it limits their personal expression.