Peer Pressure Essay

Peer pressure persuades one to do something that one does not want to do. But maybe you want to do it, and you just don’t have the courage to do it and your friends talk you into it. Peer Pressure can be good peer pressure or bad peer pressure. Bad peer pressure makes one do something that one does not want to do. One of the major problems with peer pressure is that one is forced into doing something one does not want to do. Usually, people get backed into a situation to try illegal drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes and these behaviors can become habit forming . If and when someone comes up and offers you one of these substances, it is your decision whether you want to try or continue to use these substances.. Good peer pressure, on the other hand, is being pushed into something that you didn’t have the courage to do or just didn’t cross your mind to do. It seems to me like a good thing to do. Good peer pressure can also be a situation when our friends convince us not to do something we were going to do because it wasn’t in our best interest. Some people say that good peer pressure is when you get pushed into something that you don’t want to do , but it turns out well. When we have to make these big decisions, it is important to think before deciding. We must think about whether we want to do it, think about whether you should, and finally think about the consequences. These are the important things we must do before taking any big decision. If the person advises us is not our friend, we must really consider what he wants us to do. When we think of peer pressure we always think of it in terms of â€Å"bad†. We think of peer pressure in terms of pressure to; smoke, do illicit drugs, drink alcohol, engage in criminal and quasi-criminal behaviour, do violence, join gangs, etc†¦ We rarely think of the many â€Å"good† ways that peer pressure can influence us – and neither do the parents of teens! In fact it is essential to proper social development that we do learn to â€Å"follow the crowd†. This is how we learn acceptable social norms; that is, how we are expected to act in the world in order to be good people. The difference between good peer pressure and bad peer pressure can be summed up in a simple comparison – when it is good, you are a member of the crowd; when it is bad, you are part of a mob. If peer pressure is telling you to do something without questioning why, to do something you know is wrong, or to do something you feel uncomfortable doing it is safe to say this is bad. This is the kind of behaviour that leads to a â€Å"mob mentality†, that is when the group is acting as one and no one seems to be thinking about consequences or outcome. If peer pressure is telling you to act in a generally appropriate way, to do the right thing when you may not otherwise, or to do more good than harm it is safe to say this is good. Peer pressure help you analyze yourself and contemplate on your ways of life. If you are fortunate to get a good peer group, your peers can play a vital role in the shaping of your personality. Their way of looking at life may influence you to change for betterment. Some of your peers are your close friends, who do not pressurize you to do things but rather inspire you to change yourself. Your peer group may actually persuade you to bring about a constructive change in your personality. Peer pressure can lead you to make the right choices in life. Thus peer pressure is more beneficial than harmful.