Problematic Peer Pressure
This article was written by one of our Young Reporters, a scheme that gives 14 to 18-year-old school students a chance to write for a real newspaper. Find out more at the Young Reporter website.
Peer pressure is when a person is influenced by others in their social group to do things they may not want to do.
It is not age specific, anyone, anywhere can experience peer pressure.
Regardless of age, race or creed, peer pressure is significant and present in our lives, and it can affect behaviour, social dynamics and decision making.
Like most things in life there are both positive and negative effects of peer pressure, this depends on how it affects behaviour and ultimately influences.
Some may argue that peer pressure is a good thing as it can help motivate others in healthy activities or to work/study harder.
For instance, having a friendship group who are actively trying to encourage you to attend an exercise class or to join them on a run could be deemed as the good side of peer pressure.
For Students, peer pressure to study can also be helpful, when friends are nudging to attend the library with them.
However, Peer pressure is mostly associated with its negative impacts its leaves on a person’s life and how it can influence their behaviours negatively.
For example, people may be led into doing risky or illegal actions in order to feel needed and accepted by society.
Over time peer pressure has changed in terms of how others are influencing each other, and it is no joke that peer pressure looked completely different in the 60’s to how it looks today.
It was not the same in the 60’s, there was pressures around the social movements (for example: civil rights movement).
The nature of peer pressure at this time was focused on fitting into a cultural or political groups with the platform for peer pressure often being face to face.
Peer pressure looked similar throughout the decades however with the evolution of digital platforms and social media, how peer pressure influences has taken a dramatic change.
The main change has been social media.
Social media platforms have enabled people to reach a wider audience, to grow momentum in the for pressuring and influencing people to purchase good and undertaken trends.
It is sometimes difficult to draw a line between positives and negatives.
It is therefore important in today’s society to look out for each other and reflect if we are subconsciously pressuring people unintentionally.
