Taking the mask off: It’s time to stop being someone we aren’t
In today’s day and age, there’s a common problem that each teenger inevitably faces along the way through adolescence. We try to find out who we are and what we want to become, but this is becoming ever more difficult. Nowadays in the age of technology, we have thousands of people around that rub off on us one way or the other. We have all of these influences around us, most of whom are either non-beneficial or unattainable. These, along with the ever-present peer pressure, make us become someone that’s far away from who we really are, something that we should attempt to move on from. It seems like today the overwhelming question for teenagers is should they put on a fake persona for the sake of being accepted or live every day unfiltered at the risk of being scrutinized?
When we step outside the friendly confines of our home, we prepare a face to show to the rest of the world, one that shows we are living a great life and having everything going right for us. We are expected to always put on a persona and show that our lives our great. On social media, we all post pictures of us in our best moments; We show when we’re on vacation, when we’re at a bonfire with friends, or when we’re sitting in the suite level at a sporting event. However, we never show the negatives; the times when we get a bad grade, a family member is sick, or an argument between you and a friend. I know I do the same things
In modern society, many adolescent girls are becoming young adults under the pretenses of false selves. When dealing with issues such as divorce, sex and violence, drugs and violence, and mass media, girls are learning to create a false identity in order to live up to stereotypical standards of beauty, popularity, and success. The book Reviving Ophelia, by Mary Pipher, Ph.D., discusses the accounts of several different girl’s therapy sessions, conducted by Dr. Pipher, which deal with aggression, disorders, and insecurities that are causing mental, physical, or emotional issues within adolescent girls trying to overcome the systematic oppression placed upon them. Throughout the book, several different girls’ stories were relatable to my own personal experience of adolescents in relation to the unrealistic expectations that create social, physical, and mental issues for many adolescent girls. One of the main hardships I was able to relate to throughout the book that Pipher describes as creating depression for girls, is divorce (Pipher, Pg. 136).
It can be extremely difficult for a teenager to hide their identity and live in fear everyday when in other parts of the world other teenagers are having the time of their lives. There are also several
Culture, ethnicity, family, sexuality, and society are all factors that can influence a person’s identity. A combination of all these elements usually result in the successful discovery of self-identity. Preadolescents and adolescents often find themselves in a constant battle attempting to find who they are or who they want to be. Adolescents are faced with questions like, What do you want to be when you grow up? What colleges are you looking into? What are your plans after high school?. In a normal process of growth, teens experiment with new activities in order to find their identity, but this is not the case for every teen. Some adolescents do not go through the normal process of experimentation for various reasons.
In a world where teens are exposed to all the messages shown in media, there is a developing self-conscious to change oneself for the people around them. Unquestionably, we have all taken a look at ourselves and thought about changing something. Wanting to gain popularity and likeability, just the fear of being pointed out and being different somehow turns people away from being themselves. However, changing oneself must first be evaluated and thought through in order to have its benefits.
Societal standards that are held within social media possesses the idea that you have to be like a celebrity or someone who is widely known. Lip injections, liposuctions, and expensive brands are on the rise now more than ever. It seems as if no one wants to be themselves any more, and it is seemingly appalling. The lack of individuality begins at a very young age in this generation. Otherwise known as “peer-pressure”, children are expected to choose to either be like everyone else, or make their own decisions and be a loner. In a scholarly article, Blöte, Miers, and Westenburg came to the conclusion that “The link between social anxiety and substance us in adolescence may be partly explained by susceptibility to peer pressure” (Blöte, Miers, & Westenburg 2016, p.6). Peer pressure and lack of individuality starts at a young age, yet does not stop for what seems like forever. Pop culture today has a fixation with being just like everyone else. But why does everyone want to be like everyone else? Why is it so fascinating and enticing to be just like person next door? A researcher, Alex Pentland, came up with a conclusion as to why people think this way. He
Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) offers infinite connections and the ability to express oneself to the world. But are these connections and images of self-based upon fact or fiction? Through selective self-presentation, people often present the “ideal self” instead of the “actual self” in the online environment to achieve the feeling of positive self-esteem. In “The Way We Live Now: I Tweet, Therefore I Am”, Peggy Orenstein writes of how her Twitter posts reflected an idealized version of her life. Two studies support the hypothesis that such editing can have a positive effect on personal self-esteem. “Mirror, Mirror on my Facebook Wall: Effects of Exposure to Facebook on Self-Esteem” by Amy Gonzales presents a study demonstrating
Recent research has documented how technology, and social networking sites (SNS; e.g., Facebook, Instagram) in particular, have given rise to a growing obsession with impression management and self-presentation online. Whether it’s searching for the perfect Instagram photo filter or carefully crafting a humblebrag Facebook status about a recent publication, users frequently engage in selective self-presentation strategies to portray an ‘ideal self’ through social media (Chou & Edge, 2012; Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008). In turn, we seek out social approval and positive feedback in the form of comments and likes.
We’ve all know what it feels like: walking down the halls in middle school or high school while you feel like you’re being watched…analyzed…critiqued. It would almost seem like every person you passed would be silently judging you for what you’re wearing, how you applied your makeup, how you did in the last soccer game, or what they heard you did with Jonny. The passerby’s in the hallway would place you on the high-school-hierarchy-of-coolness scale based on superficial characteristics even before getting to know you. Adolescence is a time of learning and forming an identity but it’s also a time where you are constantly being watched and evaluated by your peers, sometimes even put down by physical or verbal means. Bullying has always been
Adolescence is defined as the developmental stage between childhood and adulthood typically beginning at age twelve and ending at age twenty. This stage for most adolescents is a complex time in which physical, cognitive and social development is at its peak. The balance between life as a child and the quest to transition into the independence of young adulthood presents many challenges within the demands of everyday life. Physical maturation, the pressure of temptation, the search of self, spirituality, academic success and evolving relationships are some of the many determents of adolescent identity development. The question of “who am I” in the process of discovering a sense of self is a vital part of adolescent identity formation.
The formation of a concrete sense of self is one of the milestones of adolescence. However, this task is anything but easy. The teenage years are full of turmoil and changes that can have a detrimental affect on a girl's sense of identity and
Teenage years can be a challenging time for many individuals. Beginning at the age of 11 through 20, adolescence is defined as a “transitional period in the human life span, linking childhood and adulthood” (Santrock 2009). At this point, the person is no longer a child, but not yet an adult. This makes it a very critical and sensitive time frame for identity formation.
Going through high school everyone is constantly trying to find out how to become liked by many. Today's teens are turning to false fronts to achieve this. The thought of being authentic is completely foreign to many. In my personal life going through high school I have experience with all types of people from those who are just trying to do what they believe to be genuine, along with those who only do what will please others. Finding ourselves is difficult, it's hard to be ourselves when we don't know ourselves. Some may say I have a bias, but since I've experienced the varying levels of authenticity, my argument is impartial. Finding an exact definition for authenticity is difficult, but the most fitting for today is to be genuine to oneself as well as others.
Logically, when we talk about youth crimes every person in this world will either response good or bad reaction towards it. For instance, we can see that youth crimes are spreading swiftly around the world and this problem should be the main concern among the society. Currently these days, children at the age of 6 are already getting themselves involved in such a cruel act. What exactly is the meaning behind the word youth crime? Youth is the period when young people between childhood and adult age is associated with vigor and immature feelings. Meanwhile, crime is an action that although not illegal but it is considered to be outrage and wrong. Juvenile delinquency is the other word that is also famous in describing youth crime. Hence, there
Teenage years are the time of a person’s life when they really start exploring their identity, who they are and who they want to be. During these years it can be hard trying to figure out who you are and where you belong, with the constant
The article talks about President Obama giving a speech about juveniles. He told the NAACP National Convention in Philadelphia, “Don't just tag them as future criminals. Reach out to them as future citizens(Obama). You can't assume that all youth who are labeled as juveniles don't want to make a change for themselves. We have to look at them as citizens who can go and get a job or pursue a particular thing they have always wanted to do, such as a doctor or lawyer. Teenagers mindset work in a different way, so they wouldn't have to be treated as adults. Not everyone could follow through with the plan because once a teenager commit a crime; they are looked at as the bad guy. This is how someone could be labeled, but you can't always assumed that