Peer Pressure & The Ideas To Manage It

In today's world, peer pressure is one of the most common issue to deal with. One cannot deny that he or she has never been under Peer Pressure, at least at some point of time in his or her life. Peers are people of your age, class, group etc. When these people force you or put the pressure on you to do something you wouldn't otherwise do, it’s called peer pressure or a better term for this is peer influence. It’s not always about doing something against your wish but also others distracting and demotivating or teasing you.

Peer pressure can be positive or negative but most of the times it’s in negative sense. Positive peer pressure stands for becoming more assertive, building up your confidence to take part in different activities and bringing out the hidden talent in yourselves to compete with the world and others. Negative peer pressure stands for doing risky and inappropriate stuff, copying others, smoking etc. all in order to be accepted by a group of people or to maintain a position and to never let yourself down in front of others so that in future they can’t question or tease you for this.

The age group most commonly affected by Peer pressure is of teenagers as they lack confidence, have low self-esteem, think they need to have a big group of friends, compare themselves with others and elders, try to fit in social groups, think they need to be good looking and perfect in whatever they do. Teenagers copy the behaviour, attitude of people who according to them are perfect, break rules, get involved in smoking or drinking alcohols or doing drugs ,start lying to parents and even get involved in sexual activities.

But anyhow every age group is affected by Peer pressure as people have different perspective and this leads to formation of groups and thus the one with the most unique or different one undergoes peer pressure. Also the ones who become the apple of everyone's eyes are likely to be the next one to undergo peer pressure as others feel jealous and start teasing and demoralizing them. Students often undergo peer pressure as they need to compete with crores of other students and instead of choosing what they like, they often make wrong choices and go with the masses.

People undergoing peer pressure generally have some of the following signs: low mood everytime, sudden changes in behaviour, aggressive or antisocial behaviour, loss of appetite or over-eating and statements about giving up on life, or life not being worth living. Peer pressure might lead to other emotions such as stress, depression, feeling suicidal and thus leading you to do wrong stuff. Getting the balance right between being yourself and fitting in with your group is best way to cope with peer pressure. Never let others influence you, take a stand for whatever you believe in and never sell out your values in order to fit in with your friends. Here are some of the ideas to help you manage peer pressure:

• Talk to people whom you think could give you best suggestions about the pressure you are dealing with. These people can be your parents, siblings, and friends.
• Try learning how to say no. If people are forcing or influencing you to do something that your conscience doesn't allows or is something against your will, learn how to say no to them.
• Don't let others demotivate and demoralize you. You have one life and don't waste time thinking about what others are going to think about you and what they are going to say. If you think you're good at something or can give it a try then go for it.
• Build up your confidence and self-esteem. It’s high time that you take your own decisions and consider what you like or think more than what others like or think. For example if your friend is opting for a career in science field it’s not necessary that you also choose the same just for the sake of being with your friend.
• Make good friends who make you feel belonged and value you, all this develops your confidence and develop your social and emotional skills. You might have heard people saying choose your friends wisely. This theory applies to every age group as wherever you go the friends you make affect your confidence, your self-esteem and your value in your eyes and in theirs too. If you chose your friends wisely peer pressure won't affect you as they will never let you feel demotivated or tease you and if others do this they will take a stand for you even before you do.

Also believe in yourself and be confident enough to put forward your thoughts in front of people. Your parents and siblings are among the people who won’t judge you, thus talk and consult with them about your choices in life. They’ll always motivate you and help you boost up your confidence and take a stand for you if required.