Teenage Individuality Among Teenagers

Adolescence is popularly known to be a very tumultuous stage in a person’s life. In the adolescent stage (also coined the identity vs. role confusion stage by theorist Erik Erikson) bodies are changing rapidly, emotions are unfamiliar and unexplainable, and refraining from succumbing to peer pressure is more challenging than ever.

The life transitions are the major changes that occur throughout individual’s lifespan. Adolescence is often classified as one of the most challenging and significant stage during life transition. In this phrase, the individuals not only developing physical and sexual maturation but also experiencing the development of identity and transitions into social and economic independence (WHO, 2014). This essay will discuss the different concept of self-identity for adolescents, the important predictable and unpredictable elements during the transition, as well as the nurses’ role in relation to adolescence care.

Adolescence is a time when everything we've ever known is being changed. Relationships, friends, thoughts, and other things that shape who we are become more awkward and confusing and are changed from what they have been in the past. Consequently, we will change also because all these things shape who we are. During a period of such change, it's hard to know who we really are. Adolescence is the time when we find out who we truly are, but not until we know who we aren't. Adolescents use common words, actions, and rivalries to try to define their unique personalities, goals, and ideas. They label

As young people progress through the adolescent stage they begin to view the world and themselves very differently than as they did a few years earlier. They become more intellectual. In the later stages of adolescence young people become less concerned about their appearance and social acceptance and more concerned about worldly issues and "who they really are." From the required text I have learned that by late adolescence, most teenagers think of themselves in terms of enduring traits, beliefs, personal philosophy, and moral standards. As they get older, children and adolescents define themselves less and less by what they look like and more and more by what they believe or feel (Child and Adolescent Behavior, pg. 196).

Every public school lunch room is filled with many tables, every day these tables are the perfect place for a student to find where they “belong”. Like Beverly Daniel Tatum states in “Why Are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”, part of the social groups forming in high schools goes to thank adolescents. Tatum writes, “As children enter adolescence, they begin to explore the question of identity, asking ‘Who am I?’ ‘Who can I be?’”(375). At this point in their life everyone begins to see their own interests and hobbies that makes them a little different than others. Because students are starting to realize their differences, in modern day high schools there are many social groups that students can identify with and feel the most comfortable being themselves.

The period of adolescence is crucial in the development of identity and social integration, and for many teens can be very trying. From the moment children begin attending programs such as daycare and elementary schooling, they are transferred from an environment that no longer exclusively contains their parents, to one where they are integrated with other children who are similar in age; also known as peers. In the United States, adolescents spend twice the amount of time within peer groups from a day to day basis than with their parents (Dijkstra & Veenstra 2011). The socialization that occurs within these peer groups plays a large role in influencing the behaviors of adolescents during this developmental period; whether reinforcing positive behaviors such as academic achievement or encouraging questionable behavior and delinquency. The importance of peer groups in contemporary society is accurately represented in the 2004 movie Mean Girls, adapted from self-help book The Queen Bee’s and Wannabees, depicting the life of a young adolescent who struggles to prove herself worthy of being accepted by the dominant social group. Whether it is deciding on identifying with the ‘Brains’ or choosing to imitate the ‘Cheerleaders’ in hopes of obtaining status, overall adolescent behavior is greatly influenced by their peer groups.

More than ever in this society as children find the need to belong or fit in to the popular crowd in school for acceptance they often tend to mimic their friends behaviors. This is often a result of the individual child trying to find him or herself. The results however, are not always negative. In fact, there are some positive results that may occur as a result of copying their peers. Simply stated, “When teens surround themselves with people who make good decisions and who are involved with positive activities and choices, it makes the adolescent child want to be better” (Stock, 2010 pg.2). Positive peers influence adolescents and can drive the child toward improved confidence, and improved grades in school. Inversely, the same can be said for the adolescent child who decides that he or she wants to be like his or her friends who have a negative influence. Children who fall into this category are those that are of the bandwagon philosophy. Those negatively impacted by peers often show signs of lower grades in school, increased distance from family. In fact, “peer pressure can lead to experimentation with drugs and alcohol, and various high risks behaviors” (Fact Sheets, 2009 pg.1). The changes in the adolescent child can have lasting effects depending on which type of peer influences that child may be surrounded by. The negative impact of peer pressure can be strong; however there are also positive influences.

The average person wants one thing more than anything else, and that thing is to belong. Without interaction human beings are known to experience aggression, depression, anxiety, and other psychological disorders, with a majority ending with murder and suicide as a side effect of not acknowledging the problem. The one group in society with the most occurrences is teenagers. Due to the fact of at that age, a person must discover who they are and what they want to be all the while having to deal with the viewpoints of others looming over them. The latest fashions, social media, among other things are all used to judge a person’s social standing, which can cause stress in some people. Even though teenagers are most often afflicted with

Self expression can come in many ways such as art, music, dance, sports, abd even hair dye or piercings. These temporary modifications relate to confidence. If having weird hair and piercings makes a tenager more confident then it should be supported. Today’s society could use more acceptance, especially when it comes to young people. When a teenager is not allowed to ecpress themselves they begin to believe the way they are is not acceptable. This teaches them to hide their true selves to conform to society. Without the ability to self express, teenagers can form insecurities and anxiety about who they

Adolescence is about being yourself. Some people can’t determine wether or not it is better to fit in, or stand out. In “Lord of the Flies”, Piggy was being picked on and told Ralph that he was “the only boy in school that had asthma,” (Goulding). In “Lord of the Flies”, most of the kids on the island picked on Piggy. This is very similar to real life situations. In high school, or even grade school, there is normally one child, who is exceptionally different from the rest, who gets picked on. But, how do they determine if it is better to stand out or fit in? Either way, it’s kind of a lose, lose. If you stand out, you are more prone to be picked on or judged, but if you fit in, you are not being yourself and you are conforming to everyone else’s exceptions. We as individuals, shouldn’t be worried to be ourself, we should be able to be whoever we want.

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 desire to fit in with peers can be a very strong influence on teens.

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

Is adolescence really about fitting in or not standing out? Do you have any responsibility to those students who don't fit in? A major part of adolescence is whether you fit it or not. This major part decides the majority of your friends and your understandings/feelings. It’s not always a bad thing to not fit in. You don't really have a responsibility to those who do not fit in. Sometimes, they choose not to fit in. By all means, try to include them. Try not to make them feel like they don't belong, but this doesn’t always work.

While childhood seemed like a breeze, my adolescent years were anything but that. Adolescence, the transition between childhood and adulthood beginning with puberty, is a time full of physical and psychological changes both positive and negative. During this time individuals are in search of their identity, a task that can yield a lot of confusion. The question of who am I lingers in the back of adolescent minds and the answer anything but simple. This struggle for an identity and one’s place in society can lead to stress. Through exploration and soul searching, however, one might find their identity. For me, this question seemed impossible to answer, however, I always had a strong desire to fit in and be liked by others. Reading through the different developmental theories in the text, I started to compare them to events in my own life and noticed many significant similarities.