“Hurry,” a friend says, “before the salesperson notices.”
Ears ringing, heart pounding, you slip the pair of earrings in your purse.
“I can’t believe you made me do that!” you say as you step out of the store.
“Oh come on, live a little,” says a “friend.”
“We didn’t make you,” replies another.
“Relax; everyone shoplifts once in a while.”
Why did you steal that jewelry? Where did your better judgment go?
Peer pressure.
The people you associate with shape the way you behave and act, whether you notice it or not. You find yourself dressing the same and using similar phrases as your friends. For example, all of my friends say “awesome” several times in their sentences. No one told them to use that word, and we are not using it in the literal sense, but we say it constantly anyway because it’s cool and popular.
Peer pressure has two categories; good and bad. It can be something simple like trying out for the school play, or something serious like whether to cut class, try cigarettes, or lie to your parents.
Some peer pressure is good. Encouragement, advice, and convincement of a peer to gain new experiences are examples of supportive pressure. One of your friends may think about cheating on a test, other friends can persuade them out of that decision. No one likes to be outnumbered. This is an example of coercion. Coercion is when you use force or intimidation to receive compliance.
Most peer pressure is bad though. Using your reputation or status to manipulate someone else is wrong. Forcing someone to do something they don’t want to, by intimidation, is terrible. Some common phrases you may hear when being pressured are: "everyone does it, no one will know, you chicken, who’s going to find out, don't be a baby," but it doesn’t always have to be that obvious. Ten of your friends buy black boots, you buy black boots. No one told you to buy them, but you do anyway because everyone else has them. It’s a fact of life: no one likes to be the odd one out, that’s why it’s so hard to stand up against a group.
There are ways to avoid the effects of bad peer pressure though, it’s not hopeless. Be confident in your decisions and think things through. It’s good to have your decisions made up ahead of time. Decide now that you won’t do drugs or drink alcohol, that way it will be easier for you when the question does pop up. If your friends are the ones tempting you to make bad decisions, then they probably aren’t your real friends. Associate yourself with people that will influence you to make good choices and support you in what you believe in.
Be confident. Be wary. Do not succumb to peer pressure.
