Peer pressure is but a fact of life where we get influenced by others around us – especially those we consider as our peers. We often tend to look upon others, observe their lifestyle choices, their mannerisms and tend to emulate the same. In fact, it is our formative years spent in the company of others, in school that tends to mold us into the men we are today.
While it would indeed be a far stretch to link peer pressure as being one of the reasons for our behavior today, it nevertheless has a powerful influence on the way we think, how we process thoughts and how we respond to certain situations. One could go on to claim that peer pressure, be it school or college, has a pivotal role to play in the choices we have made in our lives since then. Here’s to taking a closer look at some of the positive and negative effects of peer pressure.
Positive effects of peer pressure:
Marketing: Peer pressure is thought to be an effective tool in influencing the masses – think back to some of the trendy ads, and see the effect on the target demographic – you can see that peer pressure, used in the right way can be an effective marketing tool. As a matter of fact, several top ad companies use movie, television stars to star in their ads, as a way to apply peer pressure on the target group.
Behavioral: Peer pressure does play a pivotal role in modifying human behavior; it even influences in the way we process facts and arrive at certain solutions. In fact, some of the choices we may have made in the recent past could be based on peer pressure. Most governments are aware of the positive benefits of peer pressure and have started utilizing the services of some of the most influential figures in our society, which more often than not turn out to be film stars or sports icons, as a way to convey the message to the masses. In fact, a recent government ad aimed at preventing underage drinking, utilized the services of some of the top English footballers, to convey the message to a young, susceptible crowd with obvious results.
Personality development: Peer pressure, can even help develop your personality and transform you into a better person. It is dependent on the peer group and the choices they make; they can have a beneficial effect on you and help you make the right choice.
Negative effects of Peer pressure:
As mentioned earlier, peer pressure can play an influential role in your life and the choices you make. Here are some of the negative effects of peer pressure.
Key influencers: Your peers can turn out to be some of the key influencers in your life; you are bound to emulate their behaviors for bad or worse and some of the life choices they make. This is why it is important for parents to find out more about their kid’s friends and determine whether they are moving with the right crowd or not. One of the reasons for some of the underage crimes being committed across the US happens to be peer pressure. Often, the teen is dared to commit the crime to prove his worthiness and is further pressured by his peers, which soon pushes him along a road replete with bad choices.
Stress: One of the other reasons for most underage kids to suffer from high-stress levels happens to be the fact that they are often trying hard to fit in with the ‘in’ crowd. As a result, they are often under enormous pressure from their peers, and often feel anxious, irritated, and moody and may develop health issues as a result of the stress. This is why you may want to take your teen to a counseling session or other, or better yet, get him involve with a hobby which should help him reduce his stress levels.
Make the right decisions: Peer pressure does indeed play a powerful role when it comes to helping you make the right decision; this is why it is vital that we move with the right crowd during our formative years. Peer pressure happens to play an influential role and teaches us the difference between right and wrong; moving with the wrong crowd can lead you down a long road of bad choices and regrets.
These are some of the positive and negative effects of peer pressure.
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