Audience: Australian TeenagersPurpose: To explore the ways in which conformity negatively affects teenagers.

The expectation to conform in society has more of a negative than positive impact on young adults

If you spent your life concentrating on what everyone else thought of you, would you forget who you really were? What if the face you showed the world turned out to be a mask... with nothing beneath it? Jodi Picoult, Nineteen MinutesPicoults words depict the harsh reality that many teenagers who succumb to conformity wake up to. Conformitys detrimental effect on teenagers is in particular exhibited through peer pressure and body image. The negative impact is also highlighted through the conflict teenagers who are expected to conform to the expectations of more than one culture are faced with.

The adverse effect of conformity is quite prevalent within peer groups of teenagers. Whether we like it or not, we have evolved into a society that often judges individuals based on the people they associate with. This notion is at the back of many teenagers minds, adding to the overwhelming pressure to belong to a social group, which has the potential to give them an image they want to project. For instance, one may want to fit in with the cool group. Seeking a sense of belonging is perfectly natural, but is it worth losing ourselves in the process? Sometimes, pressure from peers may make us feel compelled to change our behaviour, attitude or beliefs in order to be accepted or withhold our position within the group. This idea is demonstrated in the P.J Hogans 1994 film Muriels Wedding. Muriels friend claims that she does not fit in with the groups image due to not wearing the right clothes amongst other ridiculous reasons. To this, Muriel responds with I know Im not normal, but Im trying to change. Conformity places teenagers in difficult situations in which they feel the need to change their ways, creating unnecessary pressure.

Moreover, societys expectation to conform to a particular standard of beauty creates an unhealthy body image. Whether it is through the latest magazine that has taken over the newsstands or the commercial that rudely interrupts our favourite program on TV, we are constantly being exposed to airbrushed images of celebrities and models. For females, emphasis is placed on thin and perfectly proportioned figures. For males, the idea that being tall and having muscular bodies equates to having strength and being good looking is highlighted. The portrayal of the societal standard of beauty through the media has led to the formation of an unrealistic perception of the ideal body in the minds of youth especially. Many of us will find that we begin to compare ourselves to these idealistic images; bringing attention to certain features that dont appear to be consistent with that expected by society, characterising them as flaws. According to the Victorian Government Office for Youth, only 16% of young women are happy with their body weight. In some cases, teenagers may even go to extent of extreme dieting and changes in appearance, all in an attempt to satisfy societys expectations. According to Better Health Channel, around three per cent of Australian teenage boys use muscle-enhancing drugs. The pressure to conform to societys expectations of beauty negatively impacts ones body image, thereby triggering immense stress and the deterioration of ones self-esteem.Furthermore, the disparities between expectations of different cultures place many teenagers in Australia in tricky situations. Many Australian teenagers who have grown up in Australia will find that they belong to more than one distinct culture: Australian culture and the culture of their ethnicity group. This leaves many of us conflicted as on one hand, there is pressure from family to conform to our ethnicities cultural expectations, and on the other hand, we are eager to conform to the Australian culture that we are exposed to through school. For instance, parents who have been brought up in Australia tend to be less strict with their children and allow more freedom. Contrarily, parents who have migrated from Asia to Australia are likely to have grown up with a culture where extremely high academic achievements by students was essential and doing things such as staying out late with friends was highly discouraged. Due to this, many of these parents still hold these expectations of their children and find it difficult to accept behaviour that is not consistent with their values. Thus, when a teenager of an Asian background is asked by their friendship group to hang out in the city at night, they are confronted with a situation whereby they need to make the tough decision of choosing to conform to their parents expectations or rebelling in order to fit in. Conformity in society adversely impacts teenagers as differences in cultural expectations place them under difficult circumstances.

Conformity is a major component of society, leaving many questioning whether its presence is more beneficial or harmful to young adults. The negative impact of the expectation to conform in society is exemplified through peer pressure and body image. Its detrimental effect is also exhibited by the way it places immense pressure on teenagers who are expected to conform to two distinct cultures.

Commentary

I decided to discuss the topics of peer pressure, body image and the impact of disparities between the expectations of different cultures, as I believe they are topics that exemplify the negative impact of the pressure to conform in society. They are also topics, which my target audience (Australian teenagers) is able to relate to. Throughout this essay I have tried to execute a range of a persuasive techniques. Such persuasive techniques include inclusive language, connotations, and statistics.

The quote used at the beginning of the essay paints a vivid image of adverse effect conformity can have on an individual whilst appealing to the reader directly through the use of questions. I believed this would make the piece more engaging for the reader and lead them to doubt the benefits of conformity.

The use of inclusive language such as our and we aims to make the reader feel as if they are being directly talked and increases engagement. This then encourages them to adopt the views of the writer. As the purpose of this essay is to convince my readers that the expectation to conform is more negative than positive , Ive used words which carry negative connotations. This works to shed negative light on conformity, thereby supporting my arguments. For instance, the use of idealistic images as opposed to simply saying images helps to place emphasis on how ridiculous and unrealistic the expectations regarding body image we are subjected to are.

The statistics that I have included in my essay clearly reflect that the pressure to conform to a particular standard of beauty is in fact negatively impacting the mentality and behaviour of many teenagers, thereby increasing the validity of my argument. I believe statistics is quite a useful persuasive technique as many readers are more likely to accept ideas that are backed up by factual information.