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MariamAyad April1st,2014 4thHour PeerPressure:DealingWithTeens A high school girl is coping with a clique that really isn'tright forher.Sherealizesthatwhat she is doing and saying is havinganegative effectonher.Thisgirldoesn'twanttoupsettheothergirlsinthe clique because sheisafraidthattheywillmakeherdosomethingmuchworseoreven humiliateher.The high school girl is under peer pressure. Most teenagers need to realize and focus more on what peer pressure is and how it is formed,thedifferenttypesofpressures,andtheconsequencesonecanexpect frompeerpressure. To begin with, teenagers have many peers, usually around the same age or same environment, sharing similar interests, whether itsclassmates,teammates,orfriends.Asteenagersgetolder,theywill experience and have to go through difficult decisionsorexperiences.Somefriendsmayhaveanegative impact on them. They can be talked into doing somethingtheydidn'twanttodo,ortheycanbecome a person they really aren't. Onceteensareinsituationslikethis,theyusuallyfeelpressured.Peerpressure isnotenoughtodo.(DealingwithPeer) However, most teens are negatively pressure, and do a lot just to fit in or be cool. Twisted out crying,says Katie, who lives in Grand Forks, North Dakota, It was the worst feeling ever. Normally, I don't drink. It was a thing to do to fit in. I knew I shouldn't have been at the party. I just wanted to fit in with people who were cool (Fanning 6). Teenagers get involved in many things to elevate their social status orfeelgoodaboutthemselves.Theteensfriendsinfluenceeachotherinmany ways. When under peer pressure, teens often can make bad decisions or choices that are notrightfor

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them. Influence of peers can be so strong that teens often choose to go along with the crowd,evenif they know their actions will have consequences.Formanyteens,theanxietyofbeingridiculedorlosing friends far outweighs any fears they may have about engaging in risky behavior (Fanning 6). Teens under negative peer pressure can risk their health and future. Teenegers dont choose their friendss wisely, and they sometimes end up developing bad habits such as smoking, drinking, and cheating. Teenegers dont realize that their actions can affect their health and future,mostbelievesinceeveryone elseisdoingit,soitsokaytodoitaswell. Meanwhile, being under negative peer pressure doesnt include just doing drugs is actually about beingpressuredtochangebelessthangoodatsomethingtofit.Alsoincludesfeelingpressuredto lie, shoplift, bully and engage in sexual activity. Teens may not want to be a part of these choices, but they may fear being rejectediftheyweretospeakoutornotdowhattheotherswanted.KatieR.,16, purposely played poorly in order to avoid conflict with the team captain, who wasnt as skilled as Katie.Because I was the new girl, I was afraid to give all my effort. I didn't want the teamtohateme for[beating the captain]. In practice, Idmakecarelessmistakes,likemissingshotsorhittingtheballout of court, so shed win (Lundsten 80). The teammates Katie has are keeping her from doingherbest instead of encouraging her to keep going.The pressure is affecting Katies performance in a negative waybecauseshecantbethebestplayersheis. Not only is negative peer pressureused inphysicalactivity,butitisalsousedinacademics.For exampleAustinJ.,16reportsthat gradesareveryimportantatherschool,somuchthattheydetermine social status. After every test, people compare scores. It's awkward and embarrassing for some students in casestodowell,andinsomecases,theydont.Yourgradesdon'tjustaffectyourscholastic life, but also your social life (Lundsten 80). Teenagers are even underacademicpeerpressuretodo

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well or poorly so they can feel comfortable around others. Academics are now a competition when a student should be focusing on how he/she is progressing. The pressure teens are around academically andathleticallyaffectsthemnegatively(Lundsten80). On the other hand, peer pressure is not always negative it could be positive and great for teenagers. Positive peer pressure can include trying new things such as an unemployed teen may decide to get a parttime jobtoearnhisownmoneyafterbeingencouragedtodosobyhisfriendswho have their own (Fanning 6). Positive peer pressure has such an impact on teensandcanhelpmanyto improve: Teens may be able to change himself/herself or what they do for the better. (Looking at what others do can help bring a positive change in your way of thinking or working). Peer pressure canpushteenstowardsomethinggoodforthem.Foranexample,whenateenknowsthatsome oftheirfriendregularlystudy,read,andaresubscribedtothelibrary. Theymightfeeltemptedto do the same. Teens may develop habits of studying and reading because their peers are doing so.(Oak) Positive peers can help a person to do better academicallybyhelpingtoguidein therightdirectionand try harder to achieve great in grades. Positive change is not just shownacademically,butitcanalsobe used athletically. Seeing that some teen peers exercisedailycanevenhaveaneffectofdeveloping the same habits (Oak). Positive peer pressure can be convincing or involving a friend to try out a school team or club. Maybe to help the friend out and get them to try new thing or encouraging them to do whatmightberight.

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In addition, many consequences, good or bad can be involved with peer pressure. Consequences teens experienced teach them to do do better for the future and also learn from their mistakes. Actions made by teenegers are mostly by being influenced by their peers.Fromtheprevious example At a party, Katie felt pressure from those around her a breathalyzer totesttoseehowmuch she has to drink. She failed the test and was arrested (Fanning 6). The teen was influenced by those around her. The temptation caused the bad behavior. Teens in these types of situations deal with smoking and bullying, and also tend to have a low confidence level (Peer Pressure). The negative effects build up to many situations that can jeopardize ones future and include health conditions. To avoid these consequences teenagersneedtolearnhowtotosayNo.Atfirst,Iwasalittlebitafraidof how my friends would react, but if I had taken a hit of marijuana, it would have really bothered me. I feel good that i made the right choice, says Eric Schulhaus, 18 (Fanning6).Theteenagersaidnoand avoided the trouble with his friends, and it helped out a lot. Teenagers need to focus more into speaking out,choosingfriendswisely,stayawayfrompeerswhopressureyoutodosomethingnotright or even ask for help if did not know what to do (Peer Pressure). Using these strategies will help teensavoidteensbadconsequencesforthenegativebehaviorandpressurefrompeers. There are also, consequences from positive peer pressure such as progressing in academically or with physical activities. Peers can pressure each otherintosomethingsthatwillimprovetheirhealth and social life and make them feel good about their decisions (Peer Pressure and). Peers can positively pressure others to make a great change andavoidnegativeconsequencesandfocusmoreon achievements. Positive peers teach teens to Behonest,avoiddrugsandalcohol,workhard,beactive together (Peer Pressure and). The skills gained from ones peers will impact a teen in a successful way to avoid and stay out of the bad consequences that may happen. It is tough to be the only teen

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who says "no" to peer pressure, but many can do it. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help teenagers know the right thing to do. Inner strength and selfconfidence can help you stand firm, walk away, and resist doing something when teens know better (Dealing with Peer).Beingwiseaboutdecisionsandsettingagoodimage canhelpmanyteens avoidthenegativeconsequences. Teenagers are all influenced by their peers, both negatively and positively. It helps define who they are, and it helps them learn from the decisions and actions they make. It is how teens choose to react to peer pressure that defines who they are as an individual. Most teenagers need to realize and focus more on what peer pressure is and how it is formed, the different types of pressures, and the consequencesonecanexpect.Beingknowledgeableaboutpeerpressurecanhelpmanyteensmakethe rightchoicesandbecomebetterpeople.Areyoualeaderorafollower?

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WorkCited "DealingWithPeerPressure."KidsHealththeWeb'sMostVisitedSiteaboutChildren'sHealth. Ed.ArcyLyness.TheNemoursFoundation,01Oct.2012.Web.31Mar.2014. <http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/friend/peer_pressure.html>. Fanning,Karen."Peerpressure:ifyou'reateenager,you'veprobablyfeltpressurefromyourpeersto dothingsyou'renotcomfortabledoing.Howyouhandlethatpressurecanmeanthedifference betweenbeingastrongindividualandsomeonewhoendsupinalotoftrouble."Scholastic ChoicesOct.2003:6+.StudentEdition.Web.21Apr.2014. Lundsten,Apryl."Unhealthycompetition?Girlstodayareexpectedtobegoodatschoolandsports, andbebeautiful,cheerfuland,polite.Butwhenisthedrivetobeyourbesthealthy...and Whenisitactuallybadforyou?Here'swhatyouneedtoknowandhowsomegirlsdeal." Girls'LifeOct.Nov.2010:80+.StudentEdition.Web.21Apr.2014. Oak,Manali."NegativeandPositiveEffectsofPeerPressure."Buzzle.Buzzle.com,n.d.Web.19Apr. 2014.<http://www.buzzle.com/articles/negativeandpositiveeffectsofpeerpressure.html>. "PeerPressureandUnderageDrinking|TheCoolSpot."PeerPressureandUnderageDrinking| CoolSpot.N.p.,n.d.Web.31Mar.2014. <http://www.thecoolspot.gov/pressures.asp>. "PeerPressure."Youth.N.p.,n.d.Web.31Mar.2014. <http://www.gspsyouth.ca/en/areyouaware/peerpressure.asp>.