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Peer Pressure - What It Is, What It Does and Why Girls Experience It More Than Boys.
Peer Pressure - What It Is, What It Does and Why Girls Experience It More Than Boys.
Most of you will have experienced, or will experience peer pressure at some point in your life, but it is most ordinarily found in teenagers. This is because they are going through lots of changes, alongside schoolwork, exams, and the usual trials and tribulations involved with being a teenager. They also now have social media to contend with too. Peer pressure is when you are pressured into doing something by your friends that you would probably not have done otherwise. For example, it could be that someone started vaping because their friends were doing it. Or even just going to a party you didn’t want to go to. Either way, it’s a very common situation and it is good to learn about it and how to cope.
Peer Pressure - Causes and Situations
Peer pressure mostly occurs when you're with friends or in a group of people. Trying to be popular is one of the main causes, along with fear of rejection and just the fact that humans naturally want to be liked.
People can be pressured into doing many different things: drinking alcohol, going to parties, watching movies for older adolescents and even things as bad as drugs and sex. ‘Love to Know’claims 55% of teens tried drugs for the first time because of pressure from their friends and 70% in another survey said that they started smoking because of other people. According to The Canadian Lung Association “My friends smoke’ and ‘I thought it was cool’ are two of the most common reasons people start smoking.
Girls and Pressure
Did you know, girls experience more peer pressure than boys? Many studies show this. 32% girls felt pressure about their body image vs 19% of boys feeling pressured. Also, 24% of girls vs 17% of boys felt peer pressure to do better in tests and school.
Interviewing a Safeguarding Leader
We interviewed a safeguarding leader from Waldegrave School about peer pressure.
What is the most common thing people are peer pressured into? - I would think friendships - being friends with people you don’t like and not being friends with someone.
Why do you think girls experience more pressure than boys? - I used to work at a mixed school and I would probably agree with that statement. Though boys have pressure not to lose face but girls want people to be on their side and don’t want to fall out with their ‘friends’.
Why do you think peer pressure and anxiety has increased over the years? - People take it more seriously now that it has a name and people are more willing to talk about it. Also because of social media and phones, you know all the great things people are doing. This encourages you to compare yourself.
Peer Pressure Can Be Beneficial
But peer pressure needn’t be all bad; there are positive effects of it. Here are some of the positives that peers can influence;
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Inspiring positive choices
There are plenty of different ways teens inspire others to do things, for example if there was a volunteer project and some people were doing it, other people who weren’t going to might end up participating
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Offering moral support
Teens often have a lot of stress and through social media they can see that others are going through the same things and this can make them feel better
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Sharing new experiences
Trying new things can be hard, so it’s often helpful for teens if their peers are trying new things. This encourages them to do the same.
Peer Pressure and How To Help
Peer pressure is inevitable; everyone experiences it. But there are ways to help and deal with it. First, you could talk to a trusted adult or friend and ask them for advice. They could help you decide what to do next. You could also talk to the person/people who are pressuring you and tell them how it makes you feel and tell them to stop, they might understand where you’re coming from and stop but they also might not. A big thing that would work is just not hanging out with the people who are doing it to you and make friends with similar values to you. This makes it less likely for peer pressure to happen to you again.
Peer pressure is very common so if you get it don’t feel alone. Hope you found these tips and information helpful!