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What is Peer Pressure?
Peer pressure refers to a feeling that one must do the same things as others to be respected, liked by them, or to ‘fit in’ the group. These people are usually of a person’s age and social group.
Types of peer pressure
There are 6 different types of peer pressure. They are as follows:
1. Positive Peer Pressure
Positive peer pressure means when a person is motivated or influenced to do what his or her group is doing. These things are positive i.e. they will have a good effect on the person. For example, a child sees that his friends are getting better grades than him. He will be positively influenced to work harder and get better grades.
2. Negative Peer Pressure
Negative peer pressure is very commonly seen among young teens. It can be explained well using an example: a group of teens with a strong influencing personality might force another child to perform tasks that are against the child’s moral values but he is unable to say no to them due to the strong influence. He then performs the activity under the pressure of the teen group. This is known as negative peer pressure.
3. Direct Peer Pressure
This type of peer pressure is generally behavior-centric. The person under pressure is forced to make a decision on the spot. For example, a person being forced to have an alcoholic drink, being forced for sexual activity by someone close to him or her, etc.
4. Indirect Peer Pressure
This type of peer pressure attracts the person to do certain activities in pressure for the sake of feeling accepted and the same as others. It is the most common type of peer pressure and is subtle; it is bound to happen to almost everyone consciously, or unconsciously. For example, a person feeling tempted to smoke with his group of friends when he sees them doing the same, etc.
5. Spoken Peer Pressure
This type of peer pressure happens when a person directly asks or forces another person to perform a particular task on the spot, right then and there. It tends to have a smaller impact on the person who is being asked to do it when it happens in private, but if it happens in front of a group of people, he or she is bound to feel embarrassed and under immense pressure to do the task.
6. Unspoken Peer Pressure
This type of peer pressure is commonly seen among young teens who lack the maturity needed to resent certain things. It happens when a majority of people of a group does something and one or two people left don’t. Those two people will feel left out. As a result, they’ll be influenced and will do the same thing eventually to stay a part of the group.
Effects of peer pressure
1. On teens and young adults:
As soon as children turn into teenagers, they tend to withdraw from the family and crave popularity, recognition, and a big friend circle. To do so, they tend to indulge in activities that are against their moral values. Most of the time, they do not do it as per their own will; this is when peer pressure plays its role.
Studies have shown that the children in the age group 12-17 are most likely to be influenced by others since their minds are developed only up to 70-80% by this time. Having a good company of friends is important for all teens since this age is very crucial and delicate. They tend to do things just because others are doing, like doing drugs, illegal activities, troubling other people and running away, etc.
The children’s parents have an important role to play here since they are the ones who can make sure that their child is going on the right path and make sure that he or she is confident enough to stand against someone who forces him or her, and intelligent enough to make the right choices in life.
Most of the students studying in schools and colleges are victims of peer pressure. Sometimes, they are forced to do something in front of a group of people. They get stressed and embarrassed and as a result, they do what’s required to ‘fit in’ their social circle.
2. On adults:
Peer pressure is something that not only children but also people of all ages go through. People become victims at offices and other workplaces. Peer pressure here can be direct or indirect.
Sometimes at offices, people are forced to get into unscrupulous activities against their will to get their work done. The victim is put in a very uncomfortable position and goes under a lot of stress when he or she is asked to do so. This is an example of direct peer pressure.
Suppose there is a survey going around the office that everyone is filling up but a certain person doesn’t wish to fill it. He or she will end up doing it anyway just because all his or her colleagues are doing. This is what indirect peer pressure at workplaces feels like.
What causes peer pressure?
Peer pressure cannot be entirely blamed upon those who try to influence others, it is also caused by one’s own personality traits. Not everyone is influenced by the same amount of pressure they are put through. Some people come out to be strong while some fall for it and go ahead with what others do and want them to do.
Someone who has low self-esteem, lack of confidence, uncertainty about his or her own identity, and any other such self-doubting values is bound to be influenced by those with strong influential personalities. He or she will be trapped in the thoughts of being good enough to fit into the group of his peers, thereby indulging in something that is against his morals and principles.
Peer pressure not only includes being bullied by someone or forced to do something, but it also means the inability to do something because of the fear of being socially embarrassed. It is very important to have self-confidence and to believe in oneself to have a strong personality and stand against all odds of the society.
Consequences of peer pressure
Peer pressure might lead to permanent damage to someone’s mind. They might start doubting themselves in everything they do, wherever they go. It not only leads to a negative impact on people’s lives but also on the tasks they do whether they are in school or at workplaces.
A child who is a victim of peer pressure is likely to get lower grades at school because he or she will not be able to concentrate on his studies as much as the other kids due to the impact peer pressure have caused to his mind. Similarly, someone working at an office is likely to be disinterested in their work since they will constantly be thinking of what they had to go through at the same work that they are working at.
Victims may have certain family problems at home due to an increase in distance from family members and close ones, hurtful communication, or negative behavior or attitude.
A person might also suffer from physical changes such as insomnia, depression, anxiety, mood swings, eating disorders, etc. All of these may or may not turn into serious disabilities in the future and affect the person’s health immensely.
How to deal with it?
Peer pressure does not simply go away on its own until and unless you stand up for yourself and against it. It is very important to give yourself time and think about what you are going through. If something doesn’t feel right about a situation, it probably isn’t.
It is important to plan ahead about how you are going to reply if and when you go through the same situation again. If the person who is causing this pressure is close to you, it would be a great idea to talk to them and tell them how you feel about the whole situation.
Parents play an important role in helping you deal with peer pressure. They are adults who can be trusted the most. They will help you think about your situation and strategize on how to get out of it and get your mind off it after you have been saved from it. It is very much necessary to have peers with the same morals, principles, and beliefs as you do.
Written by - Hunnar Kaushal
Edited by - Chhavi Gupta
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