What really is peer pressure? Here is what I observed

School resumed a week ago and I was feeling reluctant to resume because the internet condition around the school environment is pretty bad and there are lots of distractions.

I haven't been consistent with writing for the past week, there hasn't been enough time considering I go to classes as early as 7:30 am and return later at 4 pm, sometimes 5 pm.

It is usually around 6 pm that the internet condition becomes bad that I usually end up watching movies or focus on programming.

Just another regular Sunday

After browsing the net for a while, I decided to watch movies for a while, but my roommate just walked in at that moment with some food items. (Great).

I'm usually the one that cooks, but today I was feeling kinda lazy (happens a lot), so I ended up eating snacks throughout today. I planned to just hold out for today, then cook something tomorrow, but my roommate had other plans.

He walked in with the food items and I could already smell trouble, because he is a bigger lazy ass than I. I kept one eye on the movie I was watching, and kept the other on him.

He dropped the items in the kitchen, walked out, and said "please can you help me tidy the kitchen? Just help me get it ready, I will be right back". Just great, I might end up doing the entire cooking.

I paused my movie, hopped in the kitchen, and started getting things ready, while doing all that, I thought to myself;

He is probably gone out to smoke or something. Funny how we are friends that differ a lot in character. He is an extrovert, I'm an introvert. He smokes, I don't. He is a big sports fan, I don't even enjoy sports. Wait, how does peer pressure even work again?

Peer pressure

There is a popular saying which my mom usually tells me whenever she sees me with the wrong crowd;

Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are

but is that even right? Well, not every time.

I have 2 roommates who share very similar qualities, and I'm the odd one. If it were up to my mom and every other person, I'm the same as my two friends, but they are so wrong.

I have been friends with both of them for a couple of years but we don't enjoy the same activities. sure, they have offered me cigarettes (and even weed!) a couple of times, but I usually refuse. Why?

I find the idea of smoking a useless endeavor and a complete waste of time. It's all about inhaling smoke into your body and bringing it out again, where is the fun in that? Well, I guess only them can see the fun in it.

Societal views on peer pressure

The point I'm making is that I have been friends with two individuals with different characteristics, but I haven't been influenced in any way (I think).

Usually, society believes the moment you start moving with the wrong crowd, you will end up adopting their behavior and way of life. But it doesn't work that way every time.

Before I got into the university, I have heard lots of stories about the school's female hostel. It is a common belief that girls are influenced into prostitution and most good girls become bad. I believed it until I got into the university.

I met some good ladies that stay in the hostel while in school and some of them are my classmates. I'm currently in my 4th year in school and those girls have been in the hostel from year one, but have they been influenced to join the dark side? Of course not

I know a lot of persons will say I don't have a way of knowing if they have gone bad, but I have met some good ones that have gone rogue, there are some things you will observe that will actually give you hints in their change in character.

Besides, the campus is one huge gossip city. Everything that goes around in the school is not hidden and if one or two persons know, then it's likely to spread everywhere.

What I think about peer pressure

I have seen lots of instances where peer pressure hasn't worked the way society thinks. I believe nobody is influenced into doing something he/she originally don't want to do.

In my opinion, only those that are weak-minded and have low self-esteem are influenced by their friends. It shows the person doesn't have a will of his own and is usually influenced by others.

Unless you were forced to do something against your will at gunpoint or threatened in some other ways, then it has been on your mind to do that thing for a while, and you're only doing it now because there are other persons that you can do it with.

But then again, peer pressure is usually very common in little kids, because at that stage they don't have much experience about life and are easily convinced to do something. Yes, most of them are naive.

I on the other hand have always defended against peer pressure right from when I was a kid, and I think I know why now; I was a very stubborn kid (still stubborn till now) and I was also an extrovert. I'm probably the one influencing other kids

Conclusion

Peer pressure is very much real and while I and some other persons can easily overcome it, it isn't the same for a lot of other persons.

Lots of persons have been influenced into going the same route as their friends, usually involving something bad, but I think that is influenced by many factors including low self-esteem, weak willpower, tendency to always please others, fear of missing out, and others.

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