On a sunny Tuesday, you’re hanging out with your friends when all of a sudden, one of your friends, Sarah, asks you if you want to go to a party with her this Friday night. However, on Friday night, you already have plans, you need to babysit your neighbor’s kid, finish eating an entire bag of chips, finish doing your homework, and plan on binge-watching the last season of your favorite tv show. After hearing this, Sarah still wants you to go to the party with her to meet some of her friends and tells you that everyone from your friend group is coming so she would love for you to join in on the fun. After a couple minutes of discussing the party with Sarah, you decide to go, but only because you don’t want to feel left out of your friend group.
The scenario above would be an example of peer pressure. Peer pressure, a term defined on the direct or indirect influence on friends and companions is commonly thought of in a negative way. So is peer pressure always shown like the scenario above? Well, although peer pressure is commonly thought of as the scenario above showed it to be, some peer pressure can be positive or have positive effects. In the scenario shown, you were peer pressured to go to a party, but the party might have some positive effects on you like getting more social interactions, de-stressing, and having fun. On the other hand, the party could have led to uncomfortable scenarios, problems with friends, and the homework you haven’t done being on your mind for the rest of the night.
Although some peer pressure may have positive effects, I will be talking about the negative peer pressure and how to avoid falling for it. Negative peer pressure is characterized by making the person being pressured into doing something feel uncomfortable, anxious, or have negative mood changes. The dangers of peer pressure include lowering your mental health, decreasing your self-confidence, poor academic performance, and social distancing from friends and family. Peer pressure can also negatively encourage you to participate in negative behaviors and habits like bullying, drug use, cheating, plagiarism, stealing, and skipping class. One of known ways to avoid falling into peer pressure is to say no.
Saying no to anything that makes you feel uncomfortable can help you get out of unwanted situations. If you were to say yes to anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, you give yourself a small and fake sense of peace that later becomes a sense of panic and resentment. The sense of resentment can then start to affect your mental health and cause more negative behavioral changes. In comparison, if you were to say no to anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, you would save yourself from any future conflicts and complications.
Peer pressure can be a very difficult thing to go through. However, you should always try to avoid falling into peer pressure by analysing your options, making up an excuse whenever you feel uncomfortable, or just saying no to anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. By not going along with the peer pressure, you are able to avoid future conflicts and problems from arising. Therefore, you should always say what you believe and speak up or in this case, say no to anything that you do not agree with doing.
Citations: Helping Teens Deal With Peer Pressure. www.childrens.com/health-wellness/helping-teens-deal-with-peer-pressure#:%7E:text=Negative%20peer%20pressure%20can%20also,harm%20or%2 0have%20suicidal%20thoughts Accessed 20 Sept. 2022.
“How to Handle Peer Pressure.” Fairfax County Public Schools, www.fcps.edu/student-wellness-tips/peer-pressure Accessed 20 Sept. 2022. By Laurie Leinwand, MA, LPC, GoodTherapy.org Topic Expert Contributor.
“Why Is Saying ‘No’ so Important?” GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog, 10 Nov. 2016, www.goodtherapy.org/blog/why-is-saying-no-so-important-111016
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