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pressure is one thing everyone faces irrespective of your age and status. Pressure comes in different dimensions and can be felt in different spheres of live. Here I am not talking about the pressure in science but the pressure we humans face in our everyday lives and in the society. I'm talking about the weight of mental stress.
Often times we feel pressure to perform , to impress and comform to the standards set by the society. Right from when we were kids in primary school, there was this pressure to come out tops in class, to be the best in some subjects like mathematics, science etc. As teenagers and youths, there is also this pressure to acquire material possessions like cars, the latest phones, latest clothes and to date the finest girls.
Even as adults, there is still this pressure to perform, this pressure to take a wife or husband, pressure to make sure you have children, in African countries like mine, if you do not have kids of both genders, male and female, there will also be some sort of pressure from family members to make you re-marry or adopt. there is also the pressure to make sure your children attends the best schools and the pressure to make sure you amass wealth either by hook or crook and to build a good house for your family.
All this shows that almost everyone regardless of their ages faces some sort of pressure. Although I can't really prove this, I think the pressure is worse for young people about my age.
One of the pressures although subtle, that we youths tend to face is the pressure to acquire the latest mobile devices (phones ). In my society, youths oftentimes grade themselves based on the kind of phones they possess. The youths with the most expensive phones are respected and rated as the big boys and girls and this makes every youth struggle, strive and save up to make sure they acquire these devices, even though they may not need it and can not afford it at the time. The desire to get these devices leads many into fraud, stealing etc.
Also there is this pressure to buy a car. Having a car puts you up the ladder in the ratings by youths in the society, plus it makes you seem cool to the opposite sex.
Another pressure that we face is the pressure to have girlfriends ( lovers ). This is another way young teenagers and youths rate themselves. The finer your girlfriend, the more attention, respect and regard you get. For this reason, the youths could pull whatever resources they have to make sure they woo the female folks and get them to love them.
There is also the pressure to wear the most fashionable and trending outfits. Youths are really bothered by how they look and pay so much attention to it. They want to be seen as cool and fashionable. So they strive to get these latest wears regardless of the cost.
Another pressure put on youths in my society is the pressure to go to college and acquire a university degree. The society makes people without a degree look like illiterates and also treat them like incomplete people. People with university degrees who cannot defend these degrees are treated better and placed higher than those who do not have these degrees but have skills. So there is this pressure to have a degree even if you do not need one or want to have one. Sometimes, some youths who do not measure up to these standards become depressed, there are also cases where youths who fail their college exams become depressed and even commit suicide because they fear that they can't face the society and it's pressures.
Lastly, there is also this pressure which encompasses every other one, and this is the pressure to make money, big and fast money.
Every youth faces this pressure. Money have become the basis for rating people and everyone wants to be rated high. Youths have become impatient and now go any length to make sure they acquire wealth as the pressure on those who do not have it is really too much.
These pressure have resulted to a lot of negativities. Some youth who cannot withstand this pressure have gotten themselves into different illicit and illegal acts. Some have even taken to armed robbery and several cyber crimes. Some have lost their lives, some others who cannot meet up with these societal standards have even become depressed.
Personally, to avoid and resist these pressures, I try not to get addicted and carried away by social media drama. I also I try to follow people and teachers of values and principles on different social media channel. I also try to make friends with people who are like minds ( people who are firm and wouldn't give in to these pressure ).
These pressures are inevitable but they're avoidable. In other to be able to withstand and manage them, we have to be conscious of it and also device ways to combat them else they would make our lives uneasy and deprive us of the much needed peace.
