The four short years that people spend in college can be some of the best years of their lives. Meeting new people, learning new things, and getting involved in clubs all contribute to this. Although these years can be great, they also have the ability to damage our lives forever. Many students fall victim to peer pressure, which occurs when a person or certain group of people tries to force an individual to conform to how that person or group acts. Peer pressure can affect college students physically, mentally, and socially. I feel as though this issue should be addressed much more when it comes to college life. Peer pressure is not a new occurrence that has only come to light within the last few years. It has happened since the beginning of time, whether it be within friend groups, within the workplace, or within school settings. The idea of peer pressure is already negatively viewed by many people, and rightfully so. Many people feel as though they need to fit in with a group, so they fall victim to peer pressure. This is especially true for freshman college students, who feel as though they need to do certain things and act a certain way to fit in (Palmeri [1]). These social pressures make them do things they usually did not do. The two most obvious things that students may fall into due to peer pressure is alcohol and drug use. These are two substances that are almost always causing harm to people’s health. Excessive alcohol use is bad for several reasons, including
Going to college is the first step to jump into the society, learning how to communicate with others, get more advanced information, acknowledge and share ideas with friends. However, many students are getting into trouble, which not related with education. In the essay, "College Pressure," William Zinsser focuses on four main types of pressure that college student experiences, which are economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. Zinsser writes about the pressures and gives examples on each one by writing scenarios or giving a personal experience when he witnessed college students struggling with anxiety. The essay gives a good amount of information and details to back up the
The short story A Drunken Ride, a Tragic Aftermath by Theresa Conroy and Christine M. Johnson is another example of peer pressure. This short story was about a group of high school boys that just graduated going to an after party that involved underage drinking. Going to this party these boys had plans on getting intoxicated but no plans on getting home. As the party went on these four boys decided they got bored half way through and wanted something to eat, so they convinced their friend that drove to go and get food even though he had been drinking. He knew it was a bad idea but he didn’t want to let down his friends. With all the bribing that was being done by his friends he finally cave in. The outcome of this situation was these four boys didn’t make it to their destination, on their way there they got into a car accident leading to all but ones death. With all being said, you should never fall for peer pressure, if you know something is wrong why do it and get yourself into trouble? There are always consequences that will be faced with wrong doings.
The essay College Pressures was written by William Zinsser. College Pressures was published in April of 1979 in Blair and Ketchum’s Country Journal. The main focus in this essay is about the pressure that is put on college students. Zinsser breaks down the college pressure into four different kinds of pressure that is put onto the students. The four pressures that Zinsser describes are economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure.
In “ College Pressures,” William Zinsser discusses four types of pressures college students go through. Even though he wrote this in 1978, college students today still experience all four of the pressures. The four pressures Zinsser discusses are economic, parental, peer, and self-induced. Today’s college students are becoming more and more disconnected with their passions and are being thrown into the world of practicality. College should be a place of experimentation and discovery, but instead it’s turned into feelings of stress and fear. students are becoming overwhelmed and stressed with the same “economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure and self-induced pressure” Zinsser speaks of in his essay. College students today undergo even more then the college students from Zinssers ' time.
Another problem that teens face on a daily basis is peer pressure. Teens face these pressures every day about simple things such as who they like or dont like, what games they play, what they wear, etc. These may seem harmless, but when it comes to peer pressure about more dangerous things, the concept is the same. Teens face peer pressure to drink alcohol. 00% of teens say that they feel the effects of peer pressure according to some study....
College pressures dominate our lives. They begin to levitate around us and slowly derail our lives. William Zinsser elaborates about the college pressures that modern generations are facing. He reveals multiple commonalities that the typical college student encounters on a daily basis. Zinsser states, “They want a map-right now-that they can follow unswervingly to career security, financial security, social security, and presumably, a prepaid grave” (12). He is spot on, the pressures demand my attention and won’t take no for an answer. So far I’ve gone head to head with these pressures every day since I started my freshman year in college. For the time that I’ve been here, my mind is overwhelmed and distraught with the amount of stress that gets piled on top of me every single day. I drown in these unrealistic expectations written in those faulty suggestion bars about how to be successful in college and college 101 tips. College pressures surround me like a dull gray cloud. It showers me with expectations and unfinished checklists. College itself is similar to carpooling to hell and back, but with no actual guarantee with a ride back.
One risk factor of binge drinking is the alcohol use of peers, and being peer pressured into consuming high amounts of alcohol. As claimed by DrinkWise (2017), peer pressure can lead individuals, especially teenagers to do things that they usually wouldn’t do, and stop them from doing something they would want to do. Peer pressure can confront the individual’s views and morals of what is right and wrong. This is significantly evident in the youth when alcohol is involved, which is due to young people wanting to have a sense of belonging, and wanting to be liked and accepted by their peers. Therefore falling into the pressure of binge drinking in order to fit in with the people around themselves that like to binge
Peer pressure influences teenagers to drink. Teenagers will drink because they want to look cool or fit in with the cool people. Like if they go to a party they will drink to be like everyone else. Laurie Halse Anderson the author of “Speak” is saying that peer pressure can make you do insane things. So don’t hang out with people that will force you to perform something you don’t want to do. If you achieve it you can become a negative person and face consequences.
Even though risky behavior and peer pressure can have a variety of different meanings for people, typically, it is a relation to drugs or alcohol. Most of the time, it seems that the most well-known types of peer pressure come from friends partaking in a substance such as drugs or alcohol and trying to persuade someone else in the group. According to the article “Peer pressure and risk-taking behaviors in children” by Lewis and Lewis (1984), peer pressure is a major factor in the development of risk-taking behaviors such as alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. (Lewis & Lewis, 1984) Not only are these risk-taking behaviors prevalent throughout life, but most specifically throughout college. In their book Monitoring the future national survey results on drug use Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, and Schulenberg (2009), all suggest that the biggest difference between college students and their non-college peers is largely due to the environment at college. (Johnston et al., 2009)
Every problem has a beginning, where the domino effect starts. In most cases people get started drinking not because they like it, but because it is illegal and it gives them a chance to rebel. The so-called “rebel” becomes bored of drinking alone and eventually seeks “company” when they are drinking. The only catch is that the “rebel” can not be the only one drinking so the “company” has to drink. This is where the problem with peer pressure and teenage drinking begins and the first domino starts the chain reaction. There are two types of peer pressure. There is direct peer pressure where a subject’s peers actually force him into having a drink. There is also indirect peer pressure where the subject enters a setting and his peers are drinking so he decides to have a drink to fit in with the rest of his peers (Articles-Teenage Drinking 2). Surveys show that alcohol abuse is related to teenage activities such as going on dates and going to parties (Teenage Alcohol Misuse 2).
In study after study, peer pressure is associated in adolescents of all ethnic and racial backgrounds with at-risk behaviors such as cigarette smoking, truancy, drug use, sexual activity, fighting, shoplifting, and daredevil stunts. Again, peer group values and attitudes influence more strongly than do family values the level of teenage alcohol use. The more accepting peers are of risky behavior, and the more they participate in that behavior, the more likely a person is to do the same thing.
There are various cause and effects of peer pressure. Peer pressure is pressure or influence from a person’s peers. Peers are often described people of the same age group or social group. Peers will feel the need to be in control and will often surround themselves with weak-minded or people with low self-esteem to have the do their bidding. The causes of peer pressure include the need to fit in, low self-esteem, fear of rejection, and at most time the need to feel safety and security from peers. The effects of peer pressure can be negative and also have the worst outcomes.
Peer pressure has always been present and will also always be present. It is not a disease or a crime, it is an influence; either a negative or a positive one. Negative peer pressure is an influence put on a person to do something wrong, or something the person doesn’t want to do. This may be stealing, taking drugs, or other dangerous actions. If someone influences you into doing something like this it is considered a negative peer pressure. This is a major problem in most schools all around the world. Teenagers usually feel peer pressure when they feel unpopular between their friends, or when they want to be accepted in a group of other teenagers. The group is a place where one feels accepted, where he can feel good about himself, where he feels secure. It increases his self esteem, and it also enhances his self-image. Unfortunately, teenagers who want to be part of these groups, need to follow certain unpleasant routines, such as stealing, smoking, taking drugs, or drinking alcohol. Many times they do things that they would never have imagined themselves doing before meeting a new group of people. Some teens try to make the "right" decision so others will admire them. Having parents or other responsible adults they can turn to for help or advice is crucial at this point in a teen's life.
In society today, people tend to make decisions based on the actions and choices of others. Peer pressure is a very real issue that affects most of the teenagers of the world today. it is a dangerous form of persuasion. It causes teenagers to easily succumb to unethical activities under the influence and pressure of their friends. people see the effects of
Teenagers face many difficult decisions in their lives and have many people in their lives that influence them. One of the major groups that influence teens is their peer group. “Since teenagers are not yet comfortable with themselves, they have a strong need to be accepted by their peers. And to be accepted, they feel they have to be just like their peers” (Ruth Maxwell, p. 24). From Maxwell we learn that teenagers will use alcohol to be accepted by a group. As age progresses the number of alcohol users progress 73 percent of kids that are from the ages of 16-18 are drinkers. In addition, around 90 percent of high school seniors have experienced alcohol at least once in their life.