Peer Pressure: Don’t Let It Happen To You

When I was in middle school the teachers and counselors really seemed adamant about instilling a sense of individuality in us young teenagers. Though they all wanted us to get along and have a sense of oneness, they also imparted on us the importance of not being regulated to sameness and the negative consequences that it comes with. This is where the importance of peer pressure was expressed and rightfully so. One of the biggest problems we have as human beings is being subjected to peer pressure. It eats us alive and one of the worse things about it is we are not aware of all of the forms it takes on and how truly dangerous it is.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the term “peer pressure”? Well I know what it used to mean for me. As a kid I always thought of peer pressure your best friends in school trying to persuade you to be a certain way and do certain things that probably aren’t the norm for you just so you can fit in. Many young folks give in to that initiative. While this type of peer pressure is a form of peer pressure, it is not the only one and as much as I hate to admit it, this is also not the most damaging one.

Peer pressure doesn’t just come from your friends and it definitely doesn’t just come from children. Peer pressure also comes from society as a whole, including your cohorts in your professional life at work and even your family, maybe especially your family. First off, let’s get down to the basics. The most common form of peer pressure that we were warned against, which was that of our friends as kids did correctly draw the blueprint for all other forms of peer pressure of which we needed to be mindful. It’s understandable that you love your friends and most people wanna get in where they fit in. However, never let these desires comes at the expense of you sacrificing your morals or your true sense of self.

Such a sacrifice can lead to big trouble for a young person when they engage in acts inspired by peer pressure like drinking, drugs, sexual activity, or breaking the law. If you allow someone to pressure you into taking part in these vices you risk ending up being a potential addict, underage parents, or having an unshakable criminal record. At the same time these are only the most basic examples of peer pressure and to where it can lead.

Fast forward to our modern day in age. Social media has single-handedly become the most prominent form of communication in this day in age and because of that there are much bigger spheres of influence hovering around us. How many people are making rash or misguided choices based on what they see their peers doing on social media? A lot.

We think social media is just a place where people go to interact with like minds and share their lives on the internet with the people they love in the distance, but social media is also grounds for the addiction of seeking attention and validation from the world. With this notion social media is also the place that sways us into making unhealthy choices based on the filtered images of someone’s life they they present on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or X.

People don’t really post their true lives on social media, they just post the edited version with all the beautiful images, omitting a lot of the real images of conflict that exist behind the scenes so that people really think they have nothing but good things going for them. Often times people see this and try to keep up. Next thing you know they’re making the same misguided choices to acquire the same external validation that follows.

A lot of people do this with numerous cute selfies or posting material belongings, but I think this speaks the loudest volumes with relationships. Of course a lot of people post their relationship statuses on social media often painting false pictures of perfection while drama unfolds in those same photos. So many other people see these photos and feel the need to not only do so at the expense of a relationship’s stability, but will also rush into the idea of a relationship feeling like they need to keep up with the same statuses.

It’s hard to determine whether anyone will ever be able to break the chain of social media based peer pressure, but it’s even harder to tell whether they’ll be able to break the chain of family based peer pressure. See the most dangerous type of peer pressure there is in my opinion is family based peer pressure.

I say it’s the most dangerous form of peer pressure because most people don’t even realize that it exist. Families can manipulate us into thinking we’re doing the right thing when they manipulate us into doing things like being a crutch for other family members or even marrying someone who fits into our little family mold of perfection. When we succumb to this type of peer pressure we end up with a lot of mental and emotional damage that can be overwhelming. The worse part is so many people think it’s justified because we’re dealing with family.

At the end of the day, peer pressure is one of the biggest killers in the world and if you don’t want it to kill you then you’re gonna have to develop a grounded sense of self and you’re gonna have to unlearn the programming that has raised you to believe that peer pressure if fitting. It’s not an easy task, but it is very doable, so let’s start doing.