Adolescent Peer Pressure

In schools today, most students fall under the influence of peer pressure. Peer pressure is when "friends" persuade you to do something that you do not want to do. But maybe you want to do it, and you just don't have the courage to do it and your friends talk you into it. Peer Pressure can be broken down into two areas: good peer pressure, and bad peer pressure.

Bad peer pressure is being coerced into doing something that you didn't want to do because your friends said that you should. Friends have a tendency to think that they know what is best for you. They always offer their opinion whether it is wanted or not. Well, if friends are going to tell you what to do, what can you do about it? The most basic thing that you can do is to say, "No, I don't wish to do that!" or if you want to do it, say, "Yes, give me a try!" For instance, if one of your friends offered you a cigarette, you might say "No, that just doesn't interest me." But being able to say no may not be the problem; the real problem arises when your friends repeatedly ask you to do something. This is where you have to be able to say to yourself, "I made a decision and I truly feel that my decision was the correct one", and then be able to express that repeatedly to all of your friends. This seems like a difficult task, doesn't it? It takes a tremendous amount of will power to be able to stand up to the people that you know, trust, and respect ... your friends.

One of the major problems with peer pressure occurs when you get sucked into something that you really didn't want to do and subsequently, become addicted to it. Usually, people get backed into a situation to try illegal drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes and more times than not, these behaviors can become habit forming. If and when someone comes up and offers you one of these substances, it is your decision whether you want to try or continue to use these substances. You should be prepared to make these decisions and to make a good decision you must be educated on that topic. For instance, say you were going to buy a stereo. You wouldn't just go out and pick the one that looked nice; you probably would go to the library and look into it.