The Power of Peer Pressure
explanatory Essay
1975 words
Introduction
Why is Peer pressure so great to people especially to teenagers? Why do young people smoke cigarettes,
drink alcohol or even use drugs? People enjoy being in a group of people who sees eye to eye about
things, Whether it is kind of clothing to wear, the kind of food to eat, that way our own opinions whether
they are wise or foolish appears to be valid for the people around you. It creates an environment of social
acceptance. It is a wonderful research topic to study because it has significance to teenagers like me. I
want to know what influence us and how to avoid them. Negative influence can change our lifestyle. Peer
pressure is responsible for sudden social change that influences some people to do thing they’ve never
done before in positive or negative way. Teenagers experience peer pressure every day from their friends,
their classmates, their coworkers, and many others. While positive influence is something to be
encouraged, negative peer pressure can cause many problems in your daughter or son’s life parents,
friends and other peer group can help you teens resist negative peer pressure by talking the time to talk
with them about it and helping them develop the tools and skills needed. Peer pressure leads to some
disturbing negative behavior in some teenagers. Almost half of teenagers were feeling pressured by their
friend about sexual activity. In a survey conducted by Survelum Public Data Bank, students feel pressured
by their friends between 35 and 49 percent of the time. Psychiatrist attribute the power of peer influence
to a group particularly if the group has social status within that area. Peer Pressure can be positive. For
example, wanting to join an athletic group of friends may compel and be forced otherwise sedentary
student to try out for soccer team. In Survelum Public Data Bank survey on peer pressure, 51% of
teenagers felt that peer pressure or the influence was sometimes positive.
The Advantages
Peer Study Group
Children are influenced by their group, just as adults are. It can help children do better in school. A study
group is a functional group composed of two or more students. The study group atmosphere offers the
students the opportunity to learn more broad discussions, sharing their opinions and knowledge about a
certain topic or in a course. It also helps them avoid procrastination. Many students tend to cram for
test/exams on the night before or begin projects with very limited time. When in study group scheduled
days can avoid participants to procrastination. Students tend to learn efficiently within a group versus
In this essay, the author
- Cites janette manese's article, peer pressure: what studies show?.
- Opines that peer pressure creates an environment of social acceptance. they want to know what influences us and how to avoid them.
- Explains that negative peer pressure can cause many problems in your daughter or son's life. parents, friends, and other peer groups can help teens resist it by talking to them about it and helping them develop the tools and skills needed.
- Explains that a study group can help children do better in school.
- Explains that being assertive means doing what you want to do, not what someone else wants, and a peer group can encourage you to avoid vices.
- Explains that surrounding yourself to good people will teach you good moral values and help you adopt and learn how others interact with others.
- Opines that by surrounding yourself to right people, one can look for general life things that a person can forget to do or not know they’re suppose to be doing.
- Explains that being practical means being useful in spending your time that makes a maximization of your living. children who have confidence are good at resisting negative influence.
- Explains that making friends is a way to make you feel that you fit in, but if the friends you choose make unhealthy choices, you may feel pressured. peer pressure is also about being influenced and choosing to do something you wouldn’t otherwise do.
- Explains that materialism is a relatively stable trait, varying only with age despite the numerous changes takes place as the child gets older. consumer susceptibility to influence has been defined as "the need to identify with or enhance one'
- Explains that attitudes towards materials as a life goal have suddenly increased dramatically from the early ‘70s to the late ‘80s in high-school seniors and college freshmen.
- Explains that people's weights and habits correlate with those of their peer group, but it is hard to unweave cause from effect. fitness affects own fitness and the probability of failing the fitness requirements.
- Explains that teen groups often form as cliques, exclusive groups that follow to chosen ideals and behaviors, and that differentiates other peer groups. the study group atmosphere offers students the opportunity to learn more broad discussions, they share their opinions and knowledge about a specific topic.
- Explains that choosing between whom to be with may seem like an ‘easy-as-pie’ decision making, but getting involved into wrong group can cause serious consequences.
Related
- explanatory
- analytical
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- Negative Essay: What Is Peer Pressure?explanatory essayAll of us have peer groups or friends that we always get along and hang out with. However, at some point of our lives, we tried and did crazy stuffs that we regret because you, yourself, know at that point it is wrong but still did it because of peer pressure. Then what is peer pressure? Peer pressure is when a person cannot decide for oneself and just depend of what their friends’ decision is. It is being very dependent on your friends that a simple decision can be hard to decide if alone. For example is when attending a class, but your friends told you that they will not attend, surely the student being “pressured” will also not attend the class.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that saying no to friends is like disobeying the parents of a teenager or even more. teenagers are easily influenced by the persons around them especially when they have gone to new environments and meet new people.
- Opines that teenagers must make their priorities right and do things that are not against the will of their parents. every parent wants their children to be successful and have a good future.
- Explains that they chose this topic because peer pressure is being the trend for teenagers of this generation. all of them want to be belong to a certain group or circle of friends that will make them look cool.
- Explains that peer pressure is when a person cannot decide for oneself and just depends on what their friends’ decision is.
- Opines that teenagers should learn to be dependent and stand-alone by having more trust to themselves and be more confident of what they can do.
1092 wordsRead More - What Is Peer Pressure Essayanalytical essayPeer Pressure: A Change in Perspective Alert! Alert! We 've all seen it on TV shows and in the movies: a good kid with a good home and a good family life, but questionable friends. Soon enough, the kid is going out every night smoking, doing drugs, and partying.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the milgram experiment, which was designed to better understand how nazis were able to manipulate people during world war ii.
- Argues that peer pressure perpetuates many positive qualities within a number of social situations.
- Explains that peer pressure in school can be a good thing, causing some students to work harder and strive to match their peers.
- Argues that peer pressure is beneficial in social situations, increasing compassion and support for a cause. it depends more on who the peers are than the pressure that comes from them.
1597 wordsRead More - Some Of The Effects That Peer-Pressure Have On Teensexplanatory essaySome Of The Effects That Peer-Pressure Have On Teens Teens are effected in so many ways by peer pressure is social pressure by member of ones peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or other wise conform in order to be accepted. Peer pressure effect different teens in different ways. Teen are often being pressured into using drugs, having sex, drinking and bullying, the list goes on. When the peer pressure becomes overwhelming teens suffer great effects such social anxiety, depression some even result to suicide.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that peer pressure affects teens in many ways. teens are often being pressured into using drugs, having sex, drinking and bullying.
- Explains that peer pressure is one of the biggest issuses in high school. teens are sometimes pressured into doing things they don't want to do.
- Explains that social anxiety disorder affects about seven to thirteen percent of the population. medication can relieve some symptom's of anxiety, but it also comes with side effects and safety concerns including the risk of addiction.
- Explains that social anxiety disorder is a big problem when it comes down to learning or asking questions in school because one may be afraid to ask for help in front of others.
- Explains that true clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss of anger, and also frustration interfere with everyday life for weeks or longer. it affects teens in high school or middle school hard because they might not want to attend school.
- Explains that teen females suffer with depression twice as often than men, and opines that depression can destroy the essence of a teenager's personality.
- Explains that anger is turned inward against some part of the self. depressed people have a way of making everything their own fault so no matter what happens, they can blame themselves.
- Explains that teenagers may go online to escape their problems, but excessive computer use leads to reckless behavior and out of control drinking. teens who commit suicide often suffer from depression.
- Explains that suicide is an act of a person taking their own life. suicide thoughts often result from feeling like you cant cope when you are faced with too much stress.
- Explains that theories and thoughts on suicide have changed over the years, reflecting trends in religious beliefs, pop culture, and academics, but suicide is still a misunderstood and confusing topic.
- Explains that severe depression is accompanied by a pervasive sense of suffering as well as the belief that escape from it is hopeless.
- Opines that suicide is based on a reasoned decision, often motivated by the presence of painful terminal illness from which little to no hope exists. these people aren't depressed, psychotic, or crying out for help.
- Explains that bullying is linked to suicide, as suggested by recent bullying-related suicides in the us and other countries. parents, teachers, and students learn about bullying and help students who may be at risk of committing bully related suicide.
- Opines that some schools or regions have more serious problems with bullying and suicide related to bullying due to an excessive problem at the school.
- Opines that words destroy people mentally, but also destroy lives and sometimes ends them. peer pressure can lead to many different things.
1192 wordsRead More - Resisting Negative Peer Pressureexplanatory essay“Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to what individuals perceive as normal of their society or social group. This influence occurs in small groups and society as a whole, and may result from subtle unconscious influences, or direct and overt social pressure. Conformity can occur in the presence of others or when an individual is alone” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conformity)
In this essay, the author
- Explains that peer pressure increases the amount of time spent with peers and the effect they provide for support. as a child moves through the educational system, peer influence increases dramatically.
- Explains harris, j. r., "where is the child's environment? a group socialization theory of development."
- Explains that conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to what individuals perceive as normal of their society or social group.
- Illustrates how peer pressure can conform a person into dismissing their values and following the group.
1067 wordsRead More - Teenage Themes in The Wave - Morton Rhueanalytical essay... instead of following the majority. The issue of peer pressure can relate to teens, as they are in constant pressure to be ‘cool’ or to be in the ‘in’ group. It does not really promote individualism, so people cannot develop their own ideas but rather follow the leader of their group.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how morton rhue's "the wave" demonstrates how easily people can be swept up by the evil influence of the nazi movement in world war ii.
- Explains that bullying is the act of intimidating a weaker person to make them do something, as the wave spread rapidly through the school.
- Analyzes how the book tries to show how bullying can affect people in the classroom, with the characters robert and brad.
- Explains that alienation is the act of being isolated from a particular group that you used to be part of. laurie was alienated from her classmates, as the wave movement drew them away.
- Explains that peer pressure is the influence that people of the same age or rank push on each other to impose a group norm of attitudes and/or behaviours.
- Analyzes how the themes of bullying, alienation and peer pressure that are shown in the wave reflect the negative aspects of the lives of teens.
1100 wordsRead More - Persuasive Essay On Peer Pressureanalytical essayThroughout the United States, there are a lot of individuals who experience peer pressure. Peer pressure usually happens around the time when children are turning into an adult. Many children struggle to say “No” when many individuals keep encouraging them to try something that could be bad for them. For example, a twelve year-old girl is hanging out with her friends and they are smoking cigarettes, they keep asking her, “come on, if you don’t try it, then you are not cool,” so the twelve year-old girl eventually tried a cigarette.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that in the united states, there are a lot of individuals who experience peer pressure. peer pressure usually happens around the time when children are turning into an adult.
- Narrates how they interviewed two college students about peer pressure as an adolescent, kelsie brooks, and michael ward. both responses were interesting.
- Narrates how one of the popular girls at kelsie's high school encountered peer pressure during her adolescence.
- Narrates how one of michael's good friends was having a get-to-gather which was just for boys only. they were having pizza, movies, and games, but some of the boys were dipping. michael finally gave in and tried some peach flavored dip.
- Opines that michael and kelsie have not been encouraged to participate in antisocial acts. they explained that their friends never forced them to act in a hostile or unfriendly matter towards another individual.
- Explains that kelsie and michael both gave into peer pressure, but did not have any consequences from their parents because they hid it from them.
- Analyzes how kelsie handled peer pressure that went against her personal beliefs. she reminded herself that everyone makes mistakes, and most individuals learn from their mistakes.
- Explains how they relate things from the textbook to the situations that emerged throughout both kelsie and michael's lives.
951 wordsRead More - Resisting Negative Peer Pressureexplanatory essay"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself." --Bruce Lee "People! Come on! All of us are cutting history. Who wants to go take that stupid exam?
In this essay, the author
- Explains that as you grow older, you'll be faced with some challenging decisions. some don't have a clear right or wrong answer, while others involve serious moral questions.
- Explains that peer pressure is the influence of a social group on an individual. teenagers feel social pressure to conform to the group of peers with whom they socialize.
- Opines that peer pressure can motivate a teen to conform to healthy behavior, but sometimes peers influence each other in negative ways.
- Explains that some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or to worry that other kids may make fun of them if they don't go along with the group.
- Explains that almost everyone ends up in a sticky peer pressure situation at some point.
- Explains that peer pressure can only bite you if you let it. the secret is to assert yourself without becoming self-righteous.
794 wordsRead More - Peer Pressure Begins in Childhoodargumentative essayPeer group influences affect children much earlier than researchers have suspected, finds a new University of Maryland-led study. The researchers say it provides a wake-up call to parents and educators to look out for undue group influences, cliquishness and biases that might set in early, the researchers say.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that peer group influences affect children much earlier than researchers have suspected, according to a university of maryland-led study.
- Explains that the study appears in the may/june 2013 issue of child development, and is available online. the researchers call their work "group dynamics of childhood."
- Explains that the findings refute an older view that conflicts between group loyalty and fairness are not yet part of elementary-school aged children's everyday interactions.
- Explains that even at this early age, children show moral independence and will stand up to the group, but it is also a setting where the seeds of group prejudices can develop, if not checked.
- Explains that peer groups aid children's development by providing positive friendships, relationships, and social support. the downsides include the undue influence of a group when it imposes unfair standards, especially on outsiders.
- Explains that children may need help from adults when they face conflicts between loyalty to the group and fairness to outsiders.
- Explains that the researchers conducted extended interviews and surveys with representative groups of fourth- and eighth-graders from a mid-atlantic suburban area.
- Explains that children have a sense of fairness early on in life, but soon enough they belong to groups that sometimes want to do something unfair.
- Analyzes how children support members of their own groups that will tell the group to divide up resources equally, not unequally.
- Explains that children are more positive about a peer who advocated for equality than about doing something that reflected group identity such as the conventional act of wearing the club shirt.
- Concludes that children can apply their understanding of fairness to social groups, and recognize what makes group dynamics complex.
- Explains that killen and her team demonstrated the development of moral reasoning in young children, finding that they care about fairness, will help others solve conflicts even when they don't benefit directly, and spontaneously cooperate without rewards.
719 wordsRead More - Comparison of Freedom and Self-Acceptance in Beloved, Secrets and Lies, and Cuckoo's Nestanalytical essayThis is where it begins. Peer pressure is a result of what people will think. "What will people think if I don't drink with them?" "What will people think if I don't ditch class with them?" These are examples that can block the road to freedom.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that freedom is being able to do whatever you want, while others say it's being physically enslaved. there are two major obstacles that can stop us from achieving true freedom.
- Explains that peer pressure is a result of what people will think. "what will people think if i don't drink with them?"
- Opines that the past is another obstacle on the road to freedom. many people have suffered abuse, neglect, or a breakup between their parents.
- Explains that in the three things we have talked about this semester (beloved, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, secrets and lies), the significant motif is freedom.
- Analyzes how sethe, in toni morrison's beloved, has an astonishing past that repeatedly haunts her. even the fact that she is now physically free from slavery, does not make her truly free.
- Analyzes how the woman's act of killing her own child was a true paradox of freedom. she refused to accept any responsibility for her child; she considers it mercy from the "dirtiness" of slavery
- Explains that the woman doesn't know who she is and is trying to connect her self worth to her children.
- Analyzes how sethe destroys her relationship with paul d, stamp paid, and her boss. beloved has such a firm grasp on her that she cannot do anything.
- Analyzes how hortense's character is similar to beloved in that their only source of identity is through their daughters. cynthia and her brother maurice haven't spoken for years.
- Compares the character of jack mcmurphy in one flew over the cuckoo's nest with the characters of other movies.
- Concludes that freedom is finding you, and finding love. one must accept that one can't change their past, but they can change the present.
- Describes kesey, ken, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, the viking press inc.
1667 wordsRead More - What Is Peer Pressureopinion essay“Confidence is knowing who you are and not changing it a bit, because of someone’s version of your reality is not their reality” (Shannon L. Alder). Throughout teenage years, this is one of the most important life lessons that is learned, because peer pressure can cause you not to be able to find your true identity. For example, during my freshman year of high school; I was picked on by a student, because she was influenced by others. Peer pressure influences teens to trust their friend’s judgement and experiment with drugs and alcohol. Not only affecting themselves; but also the people around them.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that confidence is knowing who you are and not changing it a bit, because someone's version of your reality is not their reality. peer pressure can cause you not to be able to find your true identity.
- Explains peer pressure is the influence that a social group of friends has on an individual’s behavior, specifically students in high school.
- Opines that teenagers are in the mindset of engaging themselves in activities that include experimentation with drugs and alcohol. this problem has risen over the years due to peer pressure.
- Explains that peer pressure has affected them and the people they choose to associate with. teens increasingly lean on peers, but parents still have the power to influence older kids.
- Concludes that peer pressure during the teenage years is the most dramatic times because you’re still trying to establish your identity.
909 wordsRead More