Introduction To Teenage Friendships
When kids advance to their teenage years, they want to explore new horizons, hence, they become risk-takers and adventurous. The play of hormones inside their body takes hold of them, therefore, influencing their overall thought process and actions.
During adolescence, teens go through a lot of turmoil and changes within themselves. Hence, they need people or support groups who validate their feelings and support them. At this point of need, friends come to their rescue by providing the required support and validation. Therefore, teenage friendships become one of the most significant parts of adolescence.
During the teenage years, parents notice a lot of changes in their children’s behaviour, they get irritated more often, and spend a lot of time with friends. Whereas, shy teens completely withdraw themselves from the world and stay in solitude. In this phase of life, they need the support of family and friends.
Let’s explore some other aspects to know more about the ups and downs of teenage friendships.
The Ups of Teenage Friendships
Support System: When it comes to help and support, friends are first and foremost no matter if you are a teenager or a mature person. They seek safe refuge during times of need and someone to share their thoughts and feelings with. Friends are there to help them out and support them sail through ups and downs.
Fun and Adventure: Teenage days are filled with exhilarating adventures, and friends being a part of it provides a great way to enjoy everything. From late-night long drives to party nights, all is possible with friends only. These experiences create great memories cherished throughout life.
Shared Interests: During the ups and downs of teenage years, teenage friendships provide a way to get connected with persons having shared interests. Friends are the ones who have shared interests with you be it music, movies, sports and in a lot of other things.
Learning Social Skills: Teenagers learn a lot of social skills through their interactions with their friends. They learn ways to communicate, empathize with others and resolve conflicts in friendship. All such skills are significant for evolving a teenager into a healthy and sound adult.
Building Self-Identity: Teenager friends play a crucial role in helping you discover your real identity. They understand you better, your likes, dislikes and everything. They don’t judge you or stop you from doing the things of your choice. When you are wrong, they are there to give you a lesson and stop you from doing something bad. Therefore, they work as a mirror in which you can see the real you.
The Downs of Teenage Friendships
Drama and Conflict: During adolescence, teenagers are engaged in conflicts, fights and drama more often. In this stage, teenagers tend to discover their true feelings, emotions, and boundaries and learn a lot of things, hence, conditions go out of their control. Sometimes, for a teenager, his teenage friends may feel like soulmates, other times he may feel himself indulged in a spat with them.
Peer Pressure: Sometimes, friendships can be challenging for teenagers due to peer pressure. They have pressure to match the levels of their friends. In all this, they engage in risk-taking behaviours and sometimes they divert to the wrong path. In some cases, due to bad company, teenagers may be forced into addiction and gambling.
Changing Dynamics: The teenage years are the phases of rapid changes, this includes a change in friendship dynamics. As interests, priorities and behaviours change, some friends may drift apart.
Insecurity and Comparison: Teenagers often tend to compare their friends with others and even to themselves which may lead to a feeling of insecurity. It can have negative effects on self-esteem and can impact their well-being.
Betrayal: Sometimes, teenagers may experience betrayal from their friends. These traumatic experiences may have implications and can be emotionally painful for them.
Navigating the Ups and Downs In Teenage Friendships
Every coin has two faces, likewise, teenage friendships have boons and banes. If the teenagers are guided properly, they can easily navigate the ups and downs of teenage friendships.
Communication: Promoting open, clear, and honest communication with friends can bring good results. Teenagers need to be trained on how to clearly express their thoughts and feelings and at the same time listen actively and carefully.
Communication is the key to a successful friendship, therefore, if your friendships have good communication, there are fewer chances of conflicts.
Boundaries: Educate teenagers about healthy boundaries, and make them understand the value of establishing and respecting boundaries in friendships. Moreover, teach them to say “no” whenever it is necessary.
Self-Identity: Give importance to the importance of staying true to self and encourage them to explore their interest, values and other domains, even if they have different interests from their friends.
Peer Pressure: Discuss with them what peer pressure is, its implications and the ways to resist it. Additionally, teach them to make the right decisions and adhere to their values and goals.
Conflict Resolution: Teach the teenager skills to counter and manage conflicts effectively. Moreover, introduce them to concepts like compromise, negotiation, etc. to address and handle disagreements in a good way.
Conclusion
Teenage friendships are a mixed bag of scintillating ups and challenging downs. These things are a crucial part of every teenager’s life, contributing to personality growth and development.
Nonetheless, there will always be hurdles along the way, but the lessons we learn through experiences will help us navigate through them.
When teenagers learn to set boundaries, express themselves clearly and stay true to themselves, they are well-equipped and prepared to face the challenges. Ultimately, it helps them maintain healthy friendships and even healthy relationships throughout their life.
Suggested reading- Double-Faced Friends: How Do They Affect You?