The Pros and Cons of Peer Pressure

1856 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The Effects of Peer Pressure

Peer pressure pressures peers in both positive and negative ways, depending on the situation. Peer pressure can display through attitudes, risky behaviors, wicked influences, and substantially through media in everyday life. These influences can occur in a positive way, which are particularly related to school and academics. On the other hand, negative pressure that can result from social media and any individual that may pressure people around them to make destructive choices.
School is the biggest influence for kids. Every day, kids surround themselves with many other different students in school. In that case, the more time they spend together, the more of an influence they may have on each other. Peer pressure starts early on the younglings in school (Pettitt, 1993). School provides a cultural hodgepodge for the youngsters, who will soak up new thoughts and interests like sponges (Pettitt, 1993). The pressure starts as soon as the kids step into school, bringing an array of tempting new ideas to challenge each child (Pettitt, 1993). Parents feel a loss of control over the influences and experiences their sons or daughters have to encounter once they have entered kindergarten (Pettitt, 1993). This is simply because these parents cannot control what happens around their kids, when they are not even around. As kids grow older, they will encounter many more challenging and difficult decision making throughout the year. They will look up to their parents as their role models, and will worship the ground that their parents walk on. The youth of today are our nation’s greatest asset, so being a positive parental role model is very important for the future youth. A strong sense of family values can go a long way in helping the kids d...

... middle of paper ...

...ifestyle plus center, . N.p.. Web. 22 Nov 2013.http://www.lifestylepluscentre.com/articles/the- effect- peer-pressure-has-on-teen-body-image>.
Marcalina, H.. N.p.. Web. 11 Dec 2013. .
Meagan, F.. N.p.. Web. 5 Nov 2013. .
Mrug, Sylvie, Anjana Madan, and Michael Windle. "Temperament Alters Susceptibility to Negative Peer Influence in Early Adolescence." Journal of abnormal child psychology 40.2 (2012): 201-9. ProQuest. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Pettitt, Denise. "Positive Parental Role Models can Ease Peer Pressure on Kids." Milwaukee Journal: 0. Sep 09 1993.ProQuest. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
Tome, Gina, et al. "THE EFFECT OF PEER GROUP INFLUENCE AND THE ROLE OF
PARENTS ON ADOLESCENT BEHAVIORS. “Pakistan Journal of Psychology 43.2
(2012)ProQuest. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • The Overachievers, by Alexandra Robbins

    2330 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gormly, Kellie B. "Peer Pressure - for Students and Adults - Can Be Positive." TribLIVE.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • Everything is Obvious by Duncan Watt

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Peer Pressure: Its Influence on Teens and Decision Making.” 2008. Teacher Scholastic Journal. Retrieved 2008. (http://headsup.scholastic.com/articles/peer-pressure-its-influence-on-teens-and-decision-making).

    Read More

  • Behavior: Nature vs. Nurture

    1766 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the most important factors believed to influence a child are parents. Parents are known to share a distinctive bond with their children. This special bond is what enables parents to shape their children. Whether it is into free-willed adolescents, ready to challenge any controversy, or into caring adults willing to spend the seventy cents a day to save a poverty stricken child. Parents have the power to mold their children. Setting firm, yet sensible, guidelines teaches children discipline and good behavior. Using physical abuse produces aggressive children, but having patience and understanding leaves a child better capable to handle stress in later years. How parents raise their children influences how they will turn out (Begley, p. 53).

    Read More

  • Solutions to Peer Pressure

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    Peer pressure is doing something that is not quite normal, but your friends pressure you into the situation because they do it. This definition of peer pressure is something that is always happening, especially with the world changing each day. Things like tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, are all possibilities that peer pressure is related to. However, in the texts “Shooting and Elephant” by George Orwell and “No Witchcraft for Sale” by Doris Lessing demonstrate peer pressure among many thing; however, there are many solutions resulting in good things compared to the bad things that have happened. Solutions to peer pressure in these texts could be many things, but the three that would work best would be: ignore the person, walk away, and lastly, know that you should not do anything you do not feel comfortable with.

    Read More

  • Peer Pressure In The Book Speak

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    One should remember that not all peer pressure is bad, although that is mostly what you see today. Good peer pressure needs to be done more, because why would you want to make someone do something bad, instead of helping them do something good and impacting them, because honestly who would want a worse world rather than a better one? Truly the way to improve our lives as human beings lies on peer pressure, it is at the core of ways we can make a change for a better, and not more for the

    Read More

  • Peer Pressure Essay

    1310 Words  | 3 Pages

    Peer pressure is the influence from members of one’s peer group. Peer pressure affect many school aged children, and teenager, because of the desire to want to fit in. Affects of giving into peer pressure can lead to taking drugs, drinking alcohol, and having sex. By researching

    Read More

  • Peers' versus Parents' Influence

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    I believe that parents play a vital role in influencing children during the development process as they create a lasting impact on the child’s overall development as well as on the socialization development. As children grow, they encompass a number of factors influencing their attitudes along with the behavior of that child. These attitudes and characteristics are learned initially from their parents. I also believe that when we are in middle school is when we want to be different to fit in with our peers. We see our peers and believe that the things they are doing are cool; we also want them to like us so we start to do the same things as them, which shows then that friends start to influence us more than adults.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech On Peer Pressure

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” (Dr.Seuss). Society often thinks of peer pressure as a negative implement. Often times the community imagines peer pressure as teen influencing one another to experiment with drugs, alcohol, and sexual intercourse. But really all peer pressure is, is the encouragement of changing values and behaviors of an individual. Peer pressure can be thought of as positive for teens, because it allows and individual to become a leader in an environment, strong encouragement to work hard in school, and lead a healthy lifestyle.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Nonfiction Peer Pressure

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    Peer pressure happens every day in practically every high school around the world. The intimidation of peer pressure can make teens forget morals and be able to discern right from wrong. Some forms of peer pressure have greater effects on teens than others. Peer pressure can affect teens lives forever because the decisions they make can alter their way of living or thinking.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Peer Pressure

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    When kids enter high school they begin to get involved in numerous activities. Most of these activities, such as sports, are after school. Teenagers start to spend more and more time with their peers and less time with their families (“Peer Pressure: Its Influence on Teens and Decision Making”, 2008). With this happening teens tend to pick up on habits that their peers have, or start talking and acting as their peers do; they start taking more risks. It often seems as if “peer influence can be hard to resist- it really has become “pressure”- and you may feel compelled to do something you’re not comfortable with” but they do it anyways (“Peer Pressure: Its Influence on Teens and Decision Making”, 2008).

    Read More

  • Resisting Negative Peer Pressure

    318 Words  | 1 Pages

    "Be yourself, not your idea of what you think somebody else's idea of yourself should be." --

    Read More

  • Peer Pressure Speech

    461 Words  | 1 Pages

    Basically, the difference between negative and positive peer pressure is the outcome. The reverse of the situation above is negative peer pressure. The situation itself is positive peer pressure. Or is it? What if a teen really doesn't like sports, but pushes himself to do it to please his friends or to be accepted? Therefore, he probably doesn't do to well at it, and gets only jabs at hi...

    Read More

  • Harmful Effects Of Peer Pressure

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone at one point or another has desire to fit into a group, whether it is friends, or something else. This is in our nature and this is what makes us humans. In whatever group they are, they wanna feel secure and have a sense of belonging to that group. But what if one’s so called friend betrays the individual or start doing things which are wrong and force the person to do it with them? This is what negative peer pressure is - trying to mess with the minds and forcing them to be an acquaintance with something which is illegal and wrong.

    Read More

  • The Problem of Peer Pressure

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    Peer pressure can be both a positive and negative influence and will challenge us do things whether they are right or wrong. This is left for you to determine. Peer pressure can influence several areas in your life like; academic performance, who you choose for friends, it can influence who you mat choose for a boyfriend or girlfriend, it can influence decisions about sex, it may change your feelings about alcohol and drug use, and it can even determine your fashion choice.

    Read More

  • Peer Pressure Among Teens

    362 Words  | 1 Pages

    When you are a teenager and you have friends that ask you to do something for them and you do not then they get mad. Then think you are a loser and that is ever person's nightmare, to not be liked. Peer pressure is no piece of cake. It is like choosing the wrong thing for what you think is right at that very moment, and then regretting it afterwards, because your parents find out. But most would not care about what they do wrong or right. Unless there is a chance of parental disappointment, and a lot of the time that is the case.

    Read More

More about The Pros and Cons of Peer Pressure

Open Document