Aristotle, the legendary Greek philosopher, once opined, “Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. ” This stands absolutely true to whichever society a man belongs. But the society of peers–people within the same social group with the same interests and influence–is something that wields its own clout and power and when this impacts and influences individuals among peers, it becomes peer pressure.
The shibboleth ‘Peer Pressure’ has garnered much attention and gained wide prominence in recent times. Peers are generally thought of as friends but peers can be anyone of an identical status or circle such as people who are the same age, who have the same attributes, calibre and orientations and share a similar social status. Peer pressure affects both personal and professional lives of an individual, sometimes in almost every age brackets. But the most vulnerable section of such pressure is adolescents and teenagers.
They tend to get magnetized toward the lifestyles and the ways of thinking of their peers. Peer pressure has both negative and positive effects on society.
Statistics show that when teens’ besties or pals ask them to smoke or drink, they readily do this without sparing even a second thought to it. Some remarkable signs and symptoms of whether one is under the spell of peer pressure include–avoiding school or other social get-togethers, being very image-conscious, behavioural swings, mood disorders, making social comparisons, sleeping troubles, trying out new hairdos or clothing styles and what not. In a word, it’s nothing but an indiscriminate frenzy of copycatting others losing one’s own individuality and originality.
Peer pressure very often leaves an indelible impression on one’s behavior socially or professionally or otherwise. It can be good or bad depending on what action is taken, what consequences it brings and whether or not one wants to do it. Some positive aspects of peer pressure on teens and young adults are worth being counted like some among the peers being egged on to join a debate team can improve one’s self-confidence and listening and thinking skills. Going to schools and colleges with peers can be positive for one’s career. Following basic dos and don’ts can keep one out of trouble and focus on what is essential. Showing up at institutions on time definitely helps one learn discipline and protocols.
Respecting elders and others will help peers go far and will inculcate in them social etiquettes. Being honest helps people build trust on them. Copycatting exercises and yogas are good for stress and fitness. Avoiding drugs can keep them off law and order blues. Copying perseverance of other peers leads one to hit goals on life. Listening to rap music and volunteering at the Boys’ or Girls’ Club let them share their knowledge and skills. Tutoring other students brushes up one’s knowledge. If oriented in right direction, peer influence can produce rich dividends.
But the dark sides of so-called peer pressure can be threatening to the life of teenagers and half-baked adults. Their daredevilry to ape one another to prove their own mettle lands them up nowhere. Such instances are listless. One can easily fall prey to drugs and alcohol while they are minors and this can lead them prisonl in tender age. Youngsters relish smoking that can result in addiction and thereafter lung cancer.
Under adrenaline rush one is driven to duel someone that can lead them to an assault charge. Stealing something on a dare can lead to imprisonment or a fine or both. Having sexual encounter at an early age can trigger pregnancy and STDs. Bullying or teasing others, putting health at risk with too much bodybuilding or dieting, skipping school, donning abnormal attires, driving fast or drag racing and the like prove disastrous for them.
Influence of peers or friends has been a never-ending trend since recent past. Its negative aspects rather than the positive ones have taken its toll on teenagers and young adults. Because of this, it has always grabbed eyeballs from various sections of our society. Many a book has been written, journals have been published and websites were launched to address its dark sides.
In recent times web series are in the making and quite a few flicks have been made on peer pressure. To highlight its woes and blues Hollywood has made English movies such as Where the Heart Is, The Sandlot, Grease, Thirteen, High School Musical and the like. Bollywood, our Hindi cine industry, has never been a laggard in this. It has made films like Bobby, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Student of the Year, Rockford, Mohabbatein, Mera Pehla Pehla Pyaar, Tere Sang, Udaan, Always Kabhi Kabhi, Sixteen, Gippi, Time Out etc. All these genres of art have been to a great extent successful in conveying message to the target audience.
With minors and adolescents becoming the easy target of peer pressure and it becoming almost like an addiction, the responsibility of parents here multiplies manifold. They can leave the strongest influence on their child’s life if they know, understand and are aware of peer pressure their child is faced with. Maintaining healthy friendships, moulding responsible behaviour and keeping an open, judgment-free family dialogue are three key components of exercising positive parental influence on a teenager. That apart, teens look to friends and other members of their peer group for counselling and guidance.
Let’s instruct them that they don’t need to copycat everyone else to make friends but also teach them how to guide their peers toward better and healthier choices. A wise counsel for those stuck in the vortex of peer pressure would be from Suzy Kassem, an American author-cum-philosopher, “Stay true to yourself. An original is worth more than a copy. “