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PEER PRESSURE CONCERNING SELF CONFIDENCE

It is often the case that a teenager with a lack of confidence becomes enmeshed in a situation in which they find themselves living their lives according to a set of standards that their peers have drawn out for them. Now granted, there may be an overlap between low self-esteem and a lack of confidence but for this particular case the distinction will be that the teen’s self-esteem is dependent of whether or not they have confidence in themselves. A teenager may very well have positive regard for themselves and display confidence in many situations. However, the pressure of going along with the group or conforming to a greater belief may often prove to be a daunting task for anyone let alone someone with little confidence. There are teens that are fortunate enough to have the ability to go against the grain when it comes to peer pressure. Many of them are so confident in their own beliefs and standards that they are able to rebuff the ideas of their peers even in the face of certain ridicule or rejection.

Unfortunately, there are those who cannot apply the self-confidence that they use in other situations to being able to stand alone when it comes to peer pressure. Even worse is the possibility that a teen has very little confidence in all types of situations. This would make them particularly vulnerable to peer pressure. How can they possibly find themselves willing to go against a group of people when they aren’t even confident enough to take a firm stand against one person. Their overall lack of confidence will often lead them to conceding a point when in actuality, their logic or reasoning is very sound. A teen may feel strongly about a particular subject and may have sound logic in regards to it but the inability to bring it forth is where the battle is lost. If you have something meaningful to say it becomes academic if you are unable to say it because you lack the confidence to do so. The pressure of peers will lead the teenager with little confidence in him or herself to cave in more often than not.

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