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Peer Pressure Is More Beneficial Than Negative in Character Devlopment

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When we think of peer pressure we always think of it in terms of "bad". We think of peer pressure in terms of pressure to; smoke, do illicit drugs, drink alcohol, have promiscuous sex, engage in criminal and quasi-criminal behaviour, do violence, join gangs, etc... We rarely think of the many "good" ways that peer pressure can influence us - and neither do the parents of teens!

Peer pressure is not all bad, in fact it is essential to proper social development that we do learn to "follow the crowd". This is how we learn acceptable social norms; that is, how we are expected to act in the world in order to be good people. The trick is learning to tell the difference between between following the crowd and blindly following the crowd. It …show more content…

Bad Habits are Cultivated: Peer pressure forces you to do things you are not comfortable doing. It can even lead you to adopt a certain kind of lifestyle, even if you don't really want to. You may not like partying every weekend, you may not be smoking. But peer pressure is powerful. It can turn you from an always-at-home boy/girl to a complete party animal. It can turn you from a total non-smoker to a chain-smoker. There are so many teenagers who take to drinking against their will, just because their peers force them to. In many cases, peer pressure has been the culprit in creating drug addicts. At that vulnerable age, teenagers do not understand that they are actually ruining their life by giving in to pressure from peers.

Identity is Lost: Peer pressure can lead to loss of individuality. Extreme peer pressure may lead you to follow what your peers feel right. Their pressure may compel you to go by everything they think is right. You follow them blindly; you adopt their tastes of fashion, clothing, hair, music and living at large. Peer pressure can actually lead you to lose your own taste. You feel forced to like what they like and do what they do. Peer pressure is the tendency to join the bandwagon; you lose your originality of thought and conduct. You forget the way you wanted to live. You lose your identity.

Positive Effects

Adopting Good Habits:

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