Influence of Peer Pressure among Youth

*By Nimisha Kapoor

Human beings are social animals. We form many relations in our life. In choosing some relationships, we do not have a choice, but for some others, we do. Making friends and hanging out with them at school and other places is fun but we need to choose our friends wisely. Suppose your friend calls you to the basement stairs of the school and asks you to share a cigarette with him. You deny it. But then he says that if you do not smoke, he will spread your secrets in the whole class. This is known as peer pressure.Peer pressure is getting someone to do something that they might not like to do or might not be comfortable doing. School children and teenagers are more prone to peer pressure.

Peer pressure occurs when a peer group exerts direct or indirect pressure to do certain actions. ‘Peer’ are the people or the groups of people that a person knows in their real life, having similar social status. Peer pressure can also be exerted by the larger culture. For example, television shows can convey an acceptable way to behave to the public, even though the people on TV do not know every individual they are influencing. Peer pressure not only brings about changes in behaviour, but also thoughts, opinions, and feelings. Peer pressure is usually a frequently used term to describe the influence of friends on teenagers. It can however be subjected to all people.

Active Peer Pressure

There are situations where a person tries to convince someone else to do something. For example, two friends might encourage a third friend to drive above the speed limit, normalizing fast driving. This is known as active peer pressure.

Passive Peer Pressure

If a person has many friends who texts/uses the phone while driving, they are more likely to text and drive themselves. Passive peer pressure may be a little hard to resist as it seems easier to go along with the crowd in order to fit in. This is known as passive peer pressure. It is modelled or mimicked behaviour.

Research suggests peer pressure begins in elementary school, often around the age of 9. At this age, the group dynamics begin to form among children, and some may be excluded from the larger group. Children may begin to worry about balancing a sense of loyalty to their friends with compassion and fairness to others.

Peer pressure is not always a bad thing, unlike popular opinion. People could be more likely to resort to pro-social behaviours when they see people of their own age doing the same things. For example, attending school regularly and participating in class, taking time out for physical activities, practicing kindness and compassion, etc. Sometimes, it even makes you want to put in more effort and reach your potential.

Peer pressure can harm us. It can result in getting low grades in school, disrespecting one’s parents, teachers and other adults, resorting to violent or aggressive acts and bunking classes. It can also lead to addiction of various harmful substances and becoming insensitive towards others and their feelings.

There are numerous ways to resist peer pressure, and we should not hesitate to take them. We can simply walk away and even warn others about the consequences of what they are doing. We can say no firmly and also call for an adult in situations we feel that require their help.

Positive peer pressure leads to socialising with others as well as learning new experiences. We also abide by laws and do not land ourselves in trouble. It may lead to us learning a lot more unique and helpful life skills which may come handy.

Coping and dealing with peer pressure can be tough. It can be difficult to find the right way to say no to friends and classmates, especially if you are unsure the consequences like bullying, rejection etc.

*Author of this article is a freelance writer and blogger.