Teens and adults are susceptible to the pressure to conform. The way we dress, the way we talk and who our friends are go along with social status.
Pressure to fit in and be normal is crushing in our society, especially with young minds; we tend to really take into account what other people say and think of us.
Part of the idea of popularity is possibly based on the clothes we wear; style and trends play a huge role in our social lives. Before we even begin to talk to a person we are judging them based on their clothes, makeup, hair and overall appearance.
Appearance does not just affect how others perceive us, but how we see ourselves as well. We can spend hours grooming to look good for the day, to make us confident. Our appearance is important to us, and not only do we spend time on it, but we spend money as well.
The pressure we receive among our social groups in undeniable. To fit into a certain friend group, some may often feel the pressure to conform, whether it is the need to dress or even change behaviour to something more neutral/basic.
As humans we tend to naturally conform, whether it is conscious or unconscious. We choose to conform by default as we almost strive to follow the crowd.
We constantly seek the approval of others. The pressure to conform can especially be expressed through popular social groups. In speaking to my peers, I learned that the clothes we wear and our styles have a great impact on our social status.
Popularity tends to go along with trends and teens are judged by their peers to determine their place in the social hierarchy.
Kids find themselves in an unstable environment, often not having close friends to depend on and trust fully. This can lead to self-esteem issues for some, yet, we do not necessarily only see this in our social lives, but in our schoolwork as well.
Most often, we see that there are moulds to fill in our education system. We must take certain courses and we are stressed to achieve good grades. Yes, we can benefit from aiming high, but not to the point where we are put under great amounts of unhealthy stress.
It is okay to follow trends or be popular, but we should be ourselves. We are so much more likely to succeed if we do what we love and what makes us happy.
We do not need to change who we are and how we look to make friends. It sounds cliché, but we are more likely to keep the friends we make if we be ourselves.
Macy How is a grade 10 student at Brooks Secondary School.
