It’s no wonder that the media has this affect though. When you’re bombarded with countless images of thin models and actresses or muscular men, most people and especially teens are going to view these figure as role models. It also doesn’t help that real life role models such as parents and older siblings often openly obsess about their own weight. Everywhere you turn from friends and peers to clothing shopping ads, you’re surrounded by the popular opinion that you have to look a certain way. These viewpoints are dangerous but almost impossible to avoid.
Another issue with the lack of tests and being able to procure these drugs so easily is the large and overwhelming issue of misuse. Some kids and young adults mainly in the late years of high school and early years of college can fake ADD, ADHD, and Bipolar disorder to obtain the prescription drugs and use them for other reasons such as selling them, or taking for other reasons than prescribed. Students tend to be on tight budgets especially in college, and can take advantage of the lack of tests and being able to obtain it so easily by taking the medications prescribed and selling them to classmates and others for a good amount of money. Some students also use the pills to get stuff done, and be able to pull “All Nighters” to finish assignments. These medications are in high demand for the desirable effects they have on the body, like helping you to sleep
Although the most common effects of stress are insomnia, stomachaches, headaches, anxiety, and irritability, stress can also be a major factor in depression and eating disorders. Michael Simon, an East Bay psychotherapist, estimates that 60 percent of high school students have their eating habits disrupted in some way by stress and that 20 to 30 percent of teenagers have their mental health affected negatively by stress. Most teenagers worry about issues that are much more serious than cliché high school problems such as homework and popularity. According to Bay Area psychologists and teenagers interviewed by the Daily Planet, high school students often worry about being successful, both in the immediate future and later i n life. Barrows said teenagers often fear that they won’t make it in a competitive society.
There are an immense amount of trends that are very harmful to teen’s health; but most people overlook the dangers of having a sun-kissed tan. If a teenager is bronzed, he or she is said to have a “healthy” glow; however, recent studies show that the effects of overexposure to the UVA and UVB rays of the sun or tanning booth are more than skin deep. Tanning has been a consistent trend and an adequate confidence booster; but teens are often unaware of the potentially deadly consequences and the steps they can take to prevent them. Tanning is considered to be a great confidence booster. After a few days baking at the beach or a few sessions in the hottest tanning salon, the skin will ultimately be darker (or redder, depending on the skin type).
An inadequacy of communication can bring destruction between companies families and even a nation, communication is one of the greatest means of socializing, lines 11-14 from the “10 great things teens learn while playing online” article the foundation of communication for many teens has been linked to chatting online with other, it has notably helped in building social skills for socially isolated young adults. Online surfing or “playing” has significantly helped teens with raising global awareness and has adequately created tolerance in the minds and hearts of young adults , according to “10 great thing teens learn while playing online” lines 32- 36 divulge that the growth of the internet has a profound impact on creating the large world a smaller place by motivating teens to learn about new cultures , geography and global issues as the internet is commonly used as
They would also begin to drink in moderation since there is no longer the appeal of a “forbidden” rebellion. This, in turn, would benefit their health. Nearly every other country in the world has a minimum age of eighteen and, evidently, alcoholism amidst the youth is not a global crisis. In fact, “in contrast to their American peers, Europeans are ‘very intolerant of their peers who become intoxicated… they think it’s stupid, unacceptable, and that’s true throughout most of Europe’” (Minimum Drinking Age).
This is believed by Dr. Manny to be because of the lack of power within the lower 2% of popularity. This article also states that a reason for bullying is to “increase popularity” which is proven through their research. These teens feel the need to “antagonize their peers to raise their status”. Which shows a more common result of bullying “in the teens with high social status, but not the highest”. In the movie, Mean Girls, Cady Heron lacks social skills when moving into the public schooling system.
High school itself is surrounded with the pressure of getting good grades for a future education and also the pressures of drugs, alcohol, boys, sports and adult influence. “The National Scholastic Journal took a poll of a group of one hundred students at random, “In today’s generation high school students believe the pressure they face has switched from peer pressure to pressure based of off social media” (Baur, 2013). Teenagers are hardly given a break & the media seems to add on to the pressures. A teenager’s biggest fear is to be considered an outcast. The media states in order for you to fit in you have to be thin.
As a result of the immense pressure by society to succeed, many students, nowadays, are pressured into using drugs to either fit in or to help gain a competitive edge over classmates in school. Much of the youth population today relies on the use of drugs to help succeed in school and outside of school, on the countless standardized test, which has a large deciding influence on the future of the student. “Among high school seniors, 7.4 percent reported taking Adderall for non-medical reasons, 5.3 percent reported abuse of the pain reliever Vicodin, and 5 percent reported abuse of cough medicine containing dextromethorphan” (Drug Abuse). Many of the students who use drugs such as Adderall, use it to gain a more concentrated focus, which allows them to strengthen their performance on an enduring test such as the SAT. Although many students rely on drugs for educational purposes, the true factor for the rapid growth amongst teen users is peer-pressure.
Many times, “the social support a person receives while in an interracial relationship can be either beneficial or detrimental” (Honeycutt et al). This disapproval of interracial dating could also be accredited to the well known belief that interracial dating is a sign of rebellion and angst shown by teenagers that subconsciously want to disobey their parents and go against the “norm”. Analyzing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Kara Joyner and Grace Kao also found that “interracial dating is most common among teenagers but becomes infrequent for people approaching 30” (Jones et al). Joyner and Kao attribute this shift in attitudes to the growing importance of the opinions of the persons’ friends and family. As the individual grows up, they find themselves more sensitive to the judgement of those around them.