Teenagers and young adults generally spend a great deal of time with their friends and classmates, more so than they do with their parents. Because of this, young people can be greatly influenced by the opinions of their peers. Their actions and even their personality can be shaped by how other people in their age group view them. Some people say that this peer pressure is beneficial to teenagers overall. They say that friends and classmates can subtly encourage teens to act fairly and even do good deeds. For example, studies have shown that generous peers can make an individual more generous as well. In this way, peer pressure can help teenagers to make better and more positive.
These people also say that humans are social animals, and as such, they need to learn how to get along with others. By dealing with peer pressure, teenagers can practice picking up social cues and coping with the opinions of others. These are valuable interactive skills that will come in handy when they grow up and enter society as adults. However, other people say that peer pressure has more disadvantages than advantages. Namely, they say that teenagers can get pressured by others into making bad life choices. In hopes of " fitting in," they may pay less attention academically or pick up harmful habits. These are decisions that they may later come to regret. Furthermore, these people say that peer pressure can prevent teenagers from becoming self-sufficient individuals. In order to figure out their true values and beliefs, teenagers sometimes need to look deeply inside themselves. But if they constantly succumb to peer pressure, they will only conform to outside standards and thus never really figure themselves out.
How did your peers influence your decision making while growing up? What can they learn from dealing with peer pressure?
