Peer 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. Every parenting book on the planet, it seems, has a section similar to this with warnings all over about how to save your child from the harmful, gripping effects of peer pressure. This all promotes the idea that peer pressure is damaging to school-children and teenagers. As a whole, society has become obsessed with individuals making decisions for themselves, so much so that we 've been trained to hear alarm bells when we think of peer pressure. However, though it is usually connoted as a negative influence, peer pressure perpetuates many positive qualities within a number of social situations. Peer pressure is simply the influence people have on others who are on the same social level. It existed long before anyone pointed to it and gave it a name. The desire to be accepted by others is uniform in not only humans but in most other animals as well. Just like buffalo travel in herds and birds flock together, humans are known for their tendency to categorize themselves in groups. …show more content…
However, peer pressure depends more on who the peers are than the pressure that comes from them. In other words, the negative effects of peer pressure can only be blamed on those who act as bad influences. So, it follows that the type of people we surround ourselves with determines whether our experiences with peer pressure are positive or negative. If we surround ourselves with good influences and people who share our values, it is more likely that the peer pressure that we are affected by will be beneficial. It is not peer pressure itself that can be dangerous. Rather, it is the people who are around
In 1692 many people died during the Salem witch trials; which were in effected greatly by peer pressure. It started off when the girls of Salem ran off into the night and went dancing in the forest. Then when the girls were caught some of the older girls threatened others and some just had great influence on others. For instance, Abigail started accusing random women of witchcraft and the other girls did it to, just for the excitement. Peer pressure can lead to all sorts of behavior.
One of the most important reasons of teenage drug usage is peer pressure. Peer pressure makes drugs seem popular, makes you have a fear of being an outcast, and since everyone is doing it, it is the "cool" thing to do…right? Wrong. Peer pressure represents social influences that effect adolescents, it can have a positive, or a negative effect, depending on person's social group and one can follow one path of the other. We are greatly influenced by the people around us. In today's colleges, drugs are very common; peer pressure usually is the reason for their usage (www.nodrugs.com 1). If the people in your social group use drugs, there will be pressure a direct or indirect pressure from them. A person may be offered to try drugs, which is direct pressure. Indirect pressure is when someone sees everyone around him using drugs and he might think that there is noth...
Peer pressure is very common among young adults. I went through peer pressure and have learned my lesson. I hate to see others going through with it. The pressure on young people to conform to the standards of their peers is huge. The people around you influence your life. You learn from them and they learn from you. Peers can have a positive influence on you, like teaching you an easier solution to a math problem. Or they could have a negative influence on you, like telling you to ditch math class with them. They might pressure you into doing something you’re not ready to do or never even thought of doing. Such as, drinking or doing drugs, having sex because everybody else is doing it, shoplifting or even driving without a driver’s license or without a guardian. They go along with it because they worry that thei...
Peer pressure can be defined as a social influence from members of one's peer group. Peer pressure plays a big role in everyone’s life, whether
... 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.
Does peer pressure create social pressure when it comes to making choices concerning teenagers and children? Many of us have experienced peer pressure or social pressure either at school with peers, at work, at a doctor’s office or even with parents. Peer pressure can be defined as when an individual exerts a behavior, attitude or values to conform to a person or an influencing group. Peer pressure in today’s society has caused many individuals to submit to the popular majority, causing people to stop having their own individualism and creativity. This problem causes negative academic performance, substance abuse such as alcohol, and poor life decisions involving friends and acquaintances. Having these problems give a young adult or
Almost everyone has experienced some form of peer pressure before, either negative or positive. There are two forms of peer pressure, explicit and implicit. Explicit peer pressure is when it is said straight out. Implicit peer pressure is when it isn’t said straight out but it is something under the radar, something that everyone is doing and the person being influenced just wants to fit in. For example, a girl starts middle school without pierced ears. Two weeks into the school years she gets pierced ears. An explicit form of peer pressure would be another classmate commenting to this girl that all the cool kids have earrings. An implicit form of peer pressure would be the girl noticing that all the popular girls have earrings so she gets in order to fit in.
Peer pressure is the term used to describe the influence from members of one's peer group. It can be positive, such as a bunch of guys convincing their very athletic friend to go out for sports instead of getting into trouble or it can be negative, such as a group of teens encouraging a younger kid to try smoking to fit in. Peer groups assert an amount of peer pressure automatically, even if they are not trying. As soon as one of the members of a group knows that another member is going to do one thing, it will influence his decision at least to some degree. Now the choice is still up to the individual, usually, but everyone has some influence.
encouraged, negative peer pressure can cause many problems in your daughter or son’s life parents,
Peer pressure is big with teenagers in high school. Peer pressure occurs when a teenager wants to be accepted by people of the same age. This is why peer pressure is very common in high school students. One might think that peer pressure only affects a teenager involved in a large group of friends rather than a smaller group of friends, this is because peer pressure can come from one friend or more than one friend. On the other hand, occasionally the peer pressure a teenager feels is coming from within the teen himself or herself. Once a teenager sees his or her friends doing something or getting involved themselves with something they want to get involved also. Some may wonder which type of peer pressure is worse, the type that comes from
To start off,there are three type of peer pressure one which is direct peer pressure,this pressure involves students to decide good or wrong
Basically, the difference between negative and positive peer pressure is the outcome. The reverse of the situation above is negative peer pressure. The situation itself is positive peer pressure. Or is it? What if a teen really doesn't like sports, but pushes himself to do it to please his friends or to be accepted? Therefore, he probably doesn't do to well at it, and gets only jabs at hi...
Peer groups are a group of people, usually of similar age, background and social status, with whom a person associates and who are likely to influence the person’s beliefs and behaviour. Peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his/her attitudes, values in order to conform to group norms (Kirk, 2000). One of the most influential structures that shape human behaviour is the peer group in a society. This is because virtually every activity done in society is done with groups: in the church; school; at work among others. According to Glaser, Shleton & Bree (2010), the peer group may on one hand, serve as a model and influence behaviours and attitudes, whilst on the other hand, it may provide easy
Peer pressure can be both a positive and negative influence and will challenge us do things whether they are right or wrong. This is left for you to determine. Peer pressure can influence several areas in your life like; academic performance, who you choose for friends, it can influence who you mat choose for a boyfriend or girlfriend, it can influence decisions about sex, it may change your feelings about alcohol and drug use, and it can even determine your fashion choice.
Everyone has been pressured into doing something we were not sure of or felt that was wrong, well many people have. Almost everyone has experienced peer pressure before, either positive or negative. Our choices can be influenced by people around us and that is what is known as peer pressure. Peer pressure however can be beneficial because it can help one achieve things in life by putting you on the right path. Peer pressure can also be a bad thing. The reason peer pressure works is because we as humans want to fit in, rather than stand out. We do what things because others want us to do because we want acceptance. Peer pressure can be helpful or harmful just depending on what one is being pressured to do.