Oppression: The Use Of Peer Pressure In Our Society

In our modern day society we have this perception that we must fit into a group. This is often seen through the potency of peer pressure in all levels of school, but largely during high school (AACAP). This can be done though subtle methods or even to the point of bullying a peer into doing something (Antoni Calvó-Armengol, 63). A more broad idea is also presented in the studies on mob mentality, where those who are in a large group will often follow what others are doing, and not always thinking about what is actually happening (Megan Donley). A large part of our current society is that those who are seen as different are put into a different group of people entirely. So we often pressure those or a pressured into a niche, but if we don’t

This is shown through the numerous times throughout history in which this has happened. In early 1942, president Roosevelt called for the relocation of everyone of Japanese ancestry on the west coast (National Archives). During the Holocaust the Nazi Regime’s main goal was to eliminate all of the Jews in Europe, since they were the “cause of all problems” (USHMM). This is also seen during the segregation between people of color and those who were white in America, the ideology at the time was that anyone who wasn’t white wasn’t even a “complete” human (VCU Libraries). With this ideology we created the idea to make anyone who was different, lesser. Even to the point where those who are different are completely segregated from the “normal” society or even killed on a massive scale. Through this ,as a species, we show that we are not very accepting of people who are different than ourselves, or the greater

One organization that is doing this is Above the Influence, they provide a resources for people to look at along with a number that you can call if in need of help (Above the Influence). Another resource is kidshealth.org, they educate both teens and adults of the ways in which they can help prevent peer pressure (D'Arcy Lyness, Kids Health). AACAP has many resources on the topic of peer pressure, from education on the topic to prevention of it (AACAP). The awareness towards peer pressure is definitely in our society, there are many organizations working towards awareness. Many organizations have been pushing towards bringing this into light more, but it is not always easy to draw the public's