The Pros And Cons Of Peer Pressure

If someone asked you to jump off a bridge with two of your friends, would you do it? Peer pressure is defined by social pressure from members of one's peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise conform in order to be accepted. There are many types of peer pressure; a common one is group pressure.

The main reason that people fall to peer pressure is either because they have a lower self-esteem and they want to fit in or because at the time, they believed that it wasn’t going to end poorly. Even though saying no to peer pressure might not be the popular choice, you’d be setting a positive example for others and people could see you as a strong-willed leader. Just by saying no one time, you could change how someone else responds to peer pressure, which could prevent future irresponsible decisions. Peer pressure doesn’t just have to be verbally transmitted, one popular form is by cyberbullying because they are too scared to actually speak face-to-face. If someone decides to cyber-bully a fellow peer, it it usually because they have experienced it in the past and they feel as if someone else should feel the pain as well. Bullies are often times bullies because they are the familiar to the feelings of being picked on and broken down. The formation of bullying may stem from a student not conforming to a popular choice or “chickening out” on a task. If someone doesn’t follow the ultimatum given by another peer, the word could spread, while also possibly being altered, promoting the bullying.

Peer pressure can be used in many ways. Animal Farm is an allegory by George Orwell. It is about farm animals that weren’t satisfied of how their farm is run so they rebel. They make 7 commandments being “All animals are equal” the most important one. The book shows how total equality is hard to achieve and power corrupts. The novel uses peer pressure to control and manipulate what is happening on the farm. It is evident on how the action of the animals changes. It is evident on how Boxer’s way of thinking changes. It is also evident in the actions of the sheep and what it does to the other animals. Peer pressure plays a big role in this novel.

Peer pressure can be both good and bad. It can be good in the way of, say

“Don’t let anyone hold you back. Don’t let anyone dilute you. Don’t be peer pressured into being less than you are” (Steve Maraboli). This quote means that negative peer pressure can result in an individual acting out and behaving in a manner that is a downgrade from the person that is true to society. Often time, the community imagines peer pressure as teens influencing one another to experiment with drugs, alcohol, and sexual intercourse. But really all peer pressure is, is the encouragement of changing values and behaviors of an individual. Peer pressure can either be negative or positive depending on the situation a person is in and how strong the character of the individual is. Though peer pressure is often used in negative instances, it can also be thought of as positive for teens, because it allows a student to have a clear mental mindset, strong encouragement to work hard in school, and become a leader in an environment.

I believe that everything in this world have a 2 sides (Positive & Negative). It’s usually depends on the person how he want to deal with it. Peer Pressure can help us analyse ourselves in a totally different way. It can help us develop our personality into totally different person. We may be able to change ourselves for the betterment.

Even though risky behavior and peer pressure can have a variety of different meanings for people, typically, it is a relation to drugs or alcohol. Most of the time, it seems that the most well-known types of peer pressure come from friends partaking in a substance such as drugs or alcohol and trying to persuade someone else in the group. According to the article “Peer pressure and risk-taking behaviors in children” by Lewis and Lewis (1984), peer pressure is a major factor in the development of risk-taking behaviors such as alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. (Lewis & Lewis, 1984) Not only are these risk-taking behaviors prevalent throughout life, but most specifically throughout college. In their book Monitoring the future national survey results on drug use Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, and Schulenberg (2009), all suggest that the biggest difference between college students and their non-college peers is largely due to the environment at college. (Johnston et al., 2009)

It's important that others should not feel this way. The significance of reading about peer pressure through fiction helps us understand a better reason to not influence this on other people. Peer pressure is the feeling of being constantly interrupted to do something that you don't want to do. Being under the influence of peer pressure can cause the victim to be very fragile and to have no self assurance. (The Economist).

There are two different types of peer pressure. Negative peer pressure is when teens feel pressured to do something they know is wrong. Positive peer pressure is when your friends push you to do something that is good and helpful to others. “Negative peer pressure can lead to, smoking, drinking, doing drugs, or stealing, or doing something you don't want to do such as cutting class or having sex.” (Unknown; Positive and Negative Peer Pressure). Teens may be tempted to give in to negative peer pressure because they want to be liked or fit in. They may also do it because they are afraid of being made fun of, or they want to try something other teens are doing.

There are 3 different types of peer pressure, the first one is direct. Direct peer pressure is when other teenagers pressure an individual into making a choice. The second type is indirect peer pressure, which is when a teenager is exposed to something negative like smoking, but they aren't directly told to participate. The last type is individual, which is when an individual feels the

There are various cause and effects of peer pressure. Peer pressure is pressure or influence from a person’s peers. Peers are often described people of the same age group or social group. Peers will feel the need to be in control and will often surround themselves with weak-minded or people with low self-esteem to have the do their bidding. The causes of peer pressure include the need to fit in, low self-esteem, fear of rejection, and at most time the need to feel safety and security from peers. The effects of peer pressure can be negative and also have the worst outcomes.

Peer pressure in society today has a negative effect on teens and schools should implement programs to help teens battle with peer pressure. Nowadays Peer pressure is a major problem in the lives of teens. These problems not only occur in school, but also outside of schools. If schools decide to implement programs teaching teenagers how to successfully battle peer pressure, a lot of decision-making for teens would be different. Not only in educational programs but in their everyday lives as well.

Peer pressure has always been present and will also always be present. It is not a disease or a crime, it is an influence; either a negative or a positive one. Negative peer pressure is an influence put on a person to do something wrong, or something the person doesn’t want to do. This may be stealing, taking drugs, or other dangerous actions. If someone influences you into doing something like this it is considered a negative peer pressure. This is a major problem in most schools all around the world. Teenagers usually feel peer pressure when they feel unpopular between their friends, or when they want to be accepted in a group of other teenagers. The group is a place where one feels accepted, where he can feel good about himself, where he feels secure. It increases his self esteem, and it also enhances his self-image. Unfortunately, teenagers who want to be part of these groups, need to follow certain unpleasant routines, such as stealing, smoking, taking drugs, or drinking alcohol. Many times they do things that they would never have imagined themselves doing before meeting a new group of people. Some teens try to make the "right" decision so others will admire them. Having parents or other responsible adults they can turn to for help or advice is crucial at this point in a teen's life.

You might have wondered if others have had the experience of being peer pressured. They have. Whether it be as simple as your parents forcing you to eat your broccoli at dinner or it could be as serious as someone forcing you to drink alcohol under the legal age. Have you ever been peer pressured? How did it feel? Peer pressure doesn’t have to be negative though. There is also something called positive peer pressure. Positive peer pressure is when your friends or someone forces you to do something that will benefit you. Has your mom ever forced you to go study for your next test? That is positive peer pressure. She is forcing you to do something that will only benefit your well being. When it is negative peer pressure though, you don’t end up being proud of yourself in the end.

Peer pressure is exerted on an individual or individuals by their peer to conform to expected norms. The peer pressure philosophically can split into two groups Direct and Indirect. Direct implies the peer pressure influence can be either physically or verbally communicative such as asking to participate in an activity which is illegal. Indirect specify it is discrete, including more emotional and mental pressures; such as putting the individual in a position to feel that they need to accept everything because that are what is expected. However, the social pressure put upon smaller groups, including women, teens and those with different gender identities consider themselves at risk in a conventional society.