Peer Pressure
What adolescent in today’s culture has not heard of or experienced peer pressure? There might be a few out there in the vast world, but to the majority of teens peer pressure is a common term. We have been hearing about peer pressure since we were small. “Just say no”: the phrase that practically everyone has heard a countless amount of times. In my opinion though, we have the wrong idea of peer pressure. In our minds peer pressure is always bad. It’s always when we are forced to drink, or smoke, or something of that matter. But what we do not realize is that peer pressure can be a good thing. Another misconception about peer pressure is what it can be; how and when you can be influenced by your peers. Also, we don’t always understand that we are not the only ones who deal with this. We think that teens are the only ones who experience peer pressure, which is completely false. My hope is that teens have a better understanding of this common problem.
The basic peer pressure story: You and a few friends are hanging out after school. Before you know it, they are passing around cigarettes. When the box gets to you, you don’t know what to do. You know you shouldn’t but everyone else is doing it, and your friends will be disappointed and cautious towards you if you don’t.
It is endless stories like this that give people the wrong idea about peer pressure. It can be things like your friends pushing you to tryout for something, or your teacher pushing you to make an A+ instead of an A-. Peer pressure can be something good. This common type of peer pressure is more accepted by youth. Although we don’t always call it peer pressure, it is an extremely recognizable part of the term. Not that there isn’t such thing as bad peer pressure. The bad side of this can be like being pushed to join a gang, being pushed to smoke, or being pushed to take a risk you don’t want to. Bad peer pressure happens all the time, but good peer pressure is common too.
When can you be influenced by your peers, is a frequently asked question about this pressure. The answer is….all the time! Peer pressure has no time limit on when it happens and no certain area of where it can happen. Peer pressure is all around us; everywhere. I bet that peer pressure is happening right now in your city, region, or school. There is no absolutely no limit to peer pressure.
When we experience peer pressure, we usually think that no one will understand. We have convinced ourselves that we are the only ones going through it and no one else can talk to us about it because they haven’t ever experienced peer pressure. Wrong! Everyone experiences peer pressure. Your parents, your grandparents, your siblings, your friends; everyone! Talk to anyone you know and most likely they have experienced peer pressure recently. You’re encouraged to talk to someone you trust about the things you are going through. So don’t think that no one understands you, they just might.
How do you sum up peer pressure? That is a rhetorical question in my opinion. Peer pressure is one of those things that you decide for yourself. Just like which group of friends, or clique, you are going to join. Peer pressure is what you make of it. You can think it mostly good, or mostly bad. It is your decision, but just remember that it can be good, that in can happen anywhere, and that you are not the only one going through it. Peer pressure is what you make of it.