Peer Pressure: How It Affects Our Lives
Peer pressure has a negative impact on the lives of most teenagers today. Peer pressure causes teenagers to act in ways they normally wouldn’t or agree to things they wouldn’t do on a regular basis. Peer pressure only exists because in settings like high school, students feel the compelling urge to “fit in”, in order to be popular.
In today’s society where drugs and underage consumption of alcohol are prevalent issues being dealt with peer pressure is no joke. People break the law just to be popular. For me particularly, peer pressure causes me to feel insecure about my beliefs and opinions. I feel like if I express what I believe, people will judge me and treat me differently. Though I tell myself I won’t give in to other people’s expectations, I am still scared of their judgment. I tell myself that I won’t allow myself to go to extremes just to change someone’s view of me.
But when I look at my past choices, I realize how much it has influenced my decisions. From the way I dress to even my hobbies, I model my personality and who I display myself as based on how I think people will perceive me. It has pushed me to download things like social media and to stop talking about things I used to love. It even caused me to date people I didn’t want to date or go to events I wanted to forget about. Peer pressure took my life from something that I was driving, and gave other people the reins. Peer pressure not only affected my personal life, but also the lives around me. When my friends tried to peer pressure me and I wouldn’t give in or I tried to peer pressure them, it ruined friendships I didn’t think could be ruined.
