Young individuals are easily influenced in terms of attitudes and behaviour by those of the same age, being under the peer pressure. While there might be some benefits such as a sense of community, I believe that there are more disadvantages, because teenagers can experience loss of identity and be involved in illegal activities.
First of all, young generation try to imitate others’ personality instead of focusing on their own qualities. They might not know their strong or weak sides and live the life of others. From my own experience, I had a situation when I changed my appearance to have some similar features with others, to be as expressive and famous as them. It ended up with a blurred image of my personality and unnecessary stress. Even though youngsters may feel a sense of belonging to a group, this blind imitation usually leads to negative psychological outcomes.
In addition, some young people tend to build an impressive and mature image of themselves, starting to smoke and drink as most characters in movies. Consequently, it poses a threat to individuals’ well-being, causing problems with lungs, as well as some heart diseases. There are also moments when peers might force teenagers to commit crimes, manipulating their trust. Youngsters may find this as a way to show how brave they are and get attention. The reason behind this is usually lack of control and affection from parents.
In conclusion, being influenced by the people of the same age may cause both mental and physical problems.