The Positive And Negative Effects Of Peer Pressure

Peer pressure influences teenagers because they might not want to do the things that their friends do. Many teenagers will be victims of peer pressure because their friends think that they might not be good enough to be in their groups. Another thing is that they think they don’t fit in with their friends. Their friends are going to tell them something and they will actually do it then after that their friends laugh at them or make fun of them. Laurie Halse Anderson the author of “Speak” is saying that peer pressure is dangerous and can be more harmful when their is more than one person doing the pressuring. Melinda friend Rachel left Melinda to eat by herself because Rachel friends said that she can not eat with them anymore.

By definition, peer pressure is described as social pressure by members of one’s peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise confirm in order to be accepted. Considering peer pressure is something that everyone experiences, whether they wish to admit it or not, there are numerous definitions for it; especially since it affects everyone so differently.

According to a research done by the Canadian Lung Association, 70% of teens started smoking because their friends smoked or because they felt peer pressure to try smoking. That would be a dangerous behavior caused by peer pressure. Here is another example of bad things caused by peer pressure; 55% of teens tried drugs for the first time because they felt pressured by their friends. Not all the times, but sometimes, people tend to do bad things with other people because they feel more secure with other people than being alone. In Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, the main character named Stargirl defies conformity and lives with her own mind. That is why I value Stargirl’s affection(Individuality) more than JMS students’ affection(conformity).

Peer pressure is the influence a peer group has on its members to fit into a particular way of thinking and behaving. When children are very young the major influences in their lives are their family and caregivers. Behaviour, attitudes and expectations in young children are learned from the modelling of others. This is the way we all learn, first from caregivers and then we include our peers when we start school and attend any activity away from family. Our Peers have a considerable influence on our behaviour and outlook on life as we all learn together. Youth spend large amounts of time with Peers, who are learning about themselves as they grow up.

The purpose of this literature review paper is to navigate and explore different effects in society towards peer pressure, conformity and rebellion. This study attempts to answer the following research questions: How does peer pressure, conformity, and rebellion affects adolescents in society? The main goal of this review is to have knowledge of the effects of this three concepts such as: peer pressure, conformity and rebellion.

Another problem that teens face on a daily basis is peer pressure. Teens face these pressures every day about simple things such as who they like or dont like, what games they play, what they wear, etc. These may seem harmless, but when it comes to peer pressure about more dangerous things, the concept is the same. Teens face peer pressure to drink alcohol. 00% of teens say that they feel the effects of peer pressure according to some study....

Even though risky behavior and peer pressure can have a variety of different meanings for people, typically, it is a relation to drugs or alcohol. Most of the time, it seems that the most well-known types of peer pressure come from friends partaking in a substance such as drugs or alcohol and trying to persuade someone else in the group. According to the article “Peer pressure and risk-taking behaviors in children” by Lewis and Lewis (1984), peer pressure is a major factor in the development of risk-taking behaviors such as alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. (Lewis & Lewis, 1984) Not only are these risk-taking behaviors prevalent throughout life, but most specifically throughout college. In their book Monitoring the future national survey results on drug use Johnston, O’Malley, Bachman, and Schulenberg (2009), all suggest that the biggest difference between college students and their non-college peers is largely due to the environment at college. (Johnston et al., 2009)

There are two different types of peer pressure. Negative peer pressure is when teens feel pressured to do something they know is wrong. Positive peer pressure is when your friends push you to do something that is good and helpful to others. “Negative peer pressure can lead to, smoking, drinking, doing drugs, or stealing, or doing something you don't want to do such as cutting class or having sex.” (Unknown; Positive and Negative Peer Pressure). Teens may be tempted to give in to negative peer pressure because they want to be liked or fit in. They may also do it because they are afraid of being made fun of, or they want to try something other teens are doing.

Teenage smoking can be a result of the influence of other teens, or maybe the amount of peer pressure. This can cause a teen to want to smoke or even think about smoking (Alcid, Arthur, page 1). Statistics show that 794 student and 22.4 percent of teens claimed to be tobacco users. (Alcid, Arthur, page 1). Teens tend to be more abrasive when smoking, and seem to act different while smoking and once they have gotten into the habit of smoking make it a constant thing. In 2003, 21.9 percent of high school students currently smoke cigarettes (Alcid, Arthur, page 1).

The author Rachel Kranz in “Straight Talk About Smoking,’ states, “Smoking more means that Lynette has less to spend on pizza and after-school snacks, because she’s got to make sure she can afford three or four packs of cigarettes each week.” (Kranz). Peer pressure to smoke can also be a way of teenagers proving that they are mature. Maturity is something that all teenagers have been told to obtain; especially by adults. The legal smoking age in most states is twenty-one, and most adults do smoke. Teenagers think that they can feel more grown up when they smoke and fit in society. Kaz Vorpal in the book of “Teen Smoking,’” states, “Adults do certain things, and therefore children who do those things feel they are more like grownups.” (Vorpal 66). Movies also contributes to teen smoking by portraying smoking as a cool, pleasurable, and harmless thing. All these factors give the teen a pressure to start smoking and never realize that the Nicotine that is found in the cigarette is addictive and causes major health problems like cancer.

We all have been young adolescents before and experienced all the things junior high and high school has to offer. Being a teenager is something everyone has or will experience in our life times. Teenagers go through a crucial time in their lives where they really figure out who they are and how to make more adult decisions. Peer pressure has always been a regular part of teenage life. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry state's “Peers play a large role in the social and emotional development of children and adolescents. Their influence begins at an early age and increases through the teenage years. It is natural, healthy and important for children to have and rely on friends as they grow and

In society today, people tend to make decisions based on the actions and choices of others. Peer pressure is a very real issue that affects most of the teenagers of the world today. it is a dangerous form of persuasion. It causes teenagers to easily succumb to unethical activities under the influence and pressure of their friends. people see the effects of

Peer pressure in society today has a negative effect on teens and schools should implement programs to help teens battle with peer pressure. Nowadays Peer pressure is a major problem in the lives of teens. These problems not only occur in school, but also outside of schools. If schools decide to implement programs teaching teenagers how to successfully battle peer pressure, a lot of decision-making for teens would be different. Not only in educational programs but in their everyday lives as well.

Peer pressure is most commonly found in the ages of 12-19 years old. Some teens have the tendency to let their peers talk them into doing things they wouldn’t normally do. The most common experiences of peer pressure happen throughout high school and college. They want to be accepted by their peers so they will often do several things to impress them. Some feel like since others are doing it they have to do it too in order to fit it. There are many varieties of peer pressure it could be how you walk or talk, what clothes you wear, and the type of music you listen to. Most teens are still learning to adapt to

Growing up as a teenager (between the ages of 13-19), you are exposed to many forms of peer pressure. Some of these forms causes us to think “is this really worth trying/doing?”, or “will my popularity