To what lengths are teenagers willing to go to be accepted?
Teenagers seem to be willing to do just about anything to be accepted. During the awkward years of middle school and high school, teens will change anything and everything they can about themselves in order to fit in. They will change the style of clothes they wear, who they hang out with, the types of activities they do in their free time, and even how they act in general in an attempt to be one of the crowd.
One of my articles (the title escapes me at the moment) states that teenagers try to dress “cool” to fit in. It goes into detail about one girl in particular who was home schooled up until high school. She never had a problem with herself or the way she dressed until her first day of official classes, when she came home from school and told her mom about all of the types of clothes she needed to buy, just so that she could fit in with the “popular” students. She, like many teens, felt the need to be accepted and changed the way she looked and dressed in order to do so.
Another one of my articles talked about a teenage boy (who was in the school orchestra) who desperately wanted to be a part of the popular crowd. He even stopped hanging out with his true friends (who were seen as dorky) in order to get noticed. He never got accepted into the cool crowd and lost his true friends because of what he did. In this case, the teenager completely stopped associating with his true friends so that he could feel like he was a part of the popular crowd.
The need to be accepted can also lead people to engage in unhealthy and unsafe activities. Oftentimes, people feel pressured to participate in risky activities, like smoking or drinking, in order to fit in. Not only are these potentially harmful to one’s physical well-being, but they could also lead to more serious problems, like addiction.
The list of what teenagers are willing to do in order to fit in seems almost endless. They will literally change who they are (on the inside and outside), ditch their true friends, and make bad decisions to be accepted.
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You're talking about becoming addicted to some bad things, do you think that these people could also be addicted to changing themselves to fit in?
ReplyDeleteI agree that people try to fit in, but you don't see very many people completely ditching their friends just to hang with the popular crowd. I think if they already have friends they are less likely to try to "fit it"
ReplyDeleteTrying to fit in is always the tough thing to do because you never want to be the odd man out. What is really disgusting is the fact that sometimes the materials you own such as clothes and how nice your car is make you popular rather than your personality or the fact that people like you for who you really are
ReplyDeleteLife would be great if everybody liked everybody, but it doesnt work that way. Some people arent going to like others. It never feels good to be rejected by people, but that does not mean you are "uncool" or a loser. In fact, those jerks who dont accept you are the real losers. They are missing out on a chance to get to know somebody that could really be influential in their lives
ReplyDeleteI dont think this is the first I have said that I agree with Mack 100%. It's ashame that people really CAN lose out on great friendships and experiences just because they don't want to hang out with a "dork." I have been guilty of this type of thing myself, but fortunitly since I graduated high school, I have had the chance to become really good friends with some people that while in school -I didn't give the time of day- In the end I am glad that they ended up giving me the opportunity -that in the beginning- I probably did not deserve.
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