CHAPTER 2
DISCUSSION
What are the effects brought by peer pressure on teenagers in building their personality?
NATURE OF
PEER PRESSURE
Peer pressure is the influence a group
has on its members to fit into a particular way of thinking and acting. The
need for acceptance, approval, and belonging, is a very real and strong need
during the teens. They can have a very positive
influence, and they may also influence young people in ways you don’t like.
Some give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or
because they worry that other may make fun of them if they don't go along with
the group. Others may go along because they are curious to try something new
that others are doing.
During teen years, teens begin to spend
more and more time with friends, and less time with their family. They are
becoming independent but at the same time more susceptible to peer influence.
That influence can be either good or bad depending on your friends and what
they are influencing them to do.
GOOD
EFFECTS OF PEER PRESSURE
Although
most people feel that peer pressure is always negative, there are several
positive aspects as well. Peer pressure is not always bad. Good friends can
encourage teens to do well in school, get involved in positive activities,
avoid drugs, alcohol, and other risky activities.
When
teens surround themselves with people who are making good decisions in life and
who are involved with positive activities and choices, this typically makes
teens want to be better. Having positive friends increases our confidence and
self-esteem.
Peer
pressure is a powerful force that influences everyone. It is effective in
changing behavior. The behavior of people around us really can affect the
standards we set for ourselves, and the way we live up to them.
A. Enhancing good study habits
Research shows that stronger students do have an
impact on their peers and they can actually help improve the overall academic
performance of the peer group. It also shows that intelligent students help
their peers bring up their grades. It is the students obligation to their
selves to choose who will be your peers, and take consideration on how they can
influence them not only in terms of improving their personality but also peers
that would take them to have a good study habits. Most of the teenagers spend
their time at school and almost half of their daily routine is studying at
school. Take consideration the importance of choosing the company who will help
them to improve their study habits. Friends are good for all terms; friends can
take you to be in a positive pathway. They can be the one who can guide to
achieve certain accomplishment when it comes to studying. It is us who can do a
way to make an improvement and make a way to achieve our goals in life.
B. Spending leisure time wisely
The President's Council
on Physical Fitness and Sports used the CDC's report and other resources to
form its own set of public-health recommendations concerning youth activity.
According to research children have three basic motivations for participating
in physical activity. It shows that children want to develop and demonstrate
physical competence, have fun, and gain social acceptance and support. The
report concludes that friendships and peer group acceptance play a significant
role in youth physical activity. There are lots of ways to
spend leisure time together with your friends. Peers should help to spend the
leisure time wisely. Instead of shopping, doing some physical activities can
enhance individual’s lifestyle. It doesn’t need to spend a lot of money just to
enjoy and have certain bonding with friends. It can make it easy and wisely if
it is just to think of what you can do to improve the bonding and make it easy
for each of the member. It can be through a natural way.
C. Avoiding vices
According to Dr. Nicholas Christakis and Dr. James Fowler published a study in the New England Journal of
Medicine in May 2008 that showed cessation success rates when pairs and groups
of people tried to quit together. The research indicated that people do tend to
successfully quit smoking when giving it a go with another person or group of
people. Close relationships had the most impact. Most of the teenagers
are being involved with such kind of vices because they do not choose the
people they should be with. As an individual teens should be able to choose
those people who can help them to be a more effective individual not to make
them in the bad side of life. They should be able to have what it takes to be
competitive especially it is important to have the guts to make a way to their
dreams. It is not considerable for a teenager to have vices that can ruin
everything you’ve been fighting for. It is your future that at stake. Choose
the group who do not even bother to spend their time doing bad things like,
drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking and most especially taking drugs. It
wouldn’t be healthy for an individual to try things that can make a big
difference in their life. Not even a single stick of cigarette, or just a
certain shot of alcoholic beverage. Choose the group who will influence to have
a better living not those who will give sufferings in individual’s life
D. Learning to have respect for others
If you are already being a member of a group it is
important to have the value for respect because that was the important thing to
consider when it is being acting it out in front of other people. It is easy
for expressing what actually feel, but it is not easy to take consideration on
what others may feel. But it is just a sense of adjustment, because if you are
in a group it is your obligation to have respect for others, in all terms. You
should make it easy for the group to be comfortable with the environment which
you belong. It is just a matter of respecting other just for you to receive
some respect too. It would be more easy if you start it all to yourself because
of you do it exactly what you want things to be, everything will follow. Being
involved in a group takes responsibility too. You should not think that it
would be only for your benefit, because it is a group you consider. Everyone
should benefit with each other. Since you have your differences, the group
should manage to take consideration for the feelings of every member and
respect for what each of the member decision may come up.
E. Having consideration for others
It is individual responsibility to be sensitive
enough to handle the group. Respect for the individual difference and consider
what need to be considered. It is you who will come up with certain kind of
decisions that may lead the group in a better place, but still you should think
that it is still important to think about what it suit for every member to fit
in. because you don’t just consider yourself you consider the member. Each of
them is important.
F. Practicality
If you have to choose your group of friends, you
should keep in mind that they would suit with your personality and also your
sense of practicality. You should not choose to be with people who do not
appreciate the value of money nowadays. It is really important that you don’t
have to spend a lot of money just to fit in the group. You don’t have to be
with those people they called “elite group” it is you and how you can be
comfortable with the group. You don’t have to try hard just to have friends.
Finding friends should be in a natural way.
BAD
EFFECTS OF PEER PRESSURE
Negative peer pressure is the influence others
have on their peers that encourages them to engage in harmful behaviors The
three main effects of negative peer pressure is that it is bad for a child’s
self-esteem, it will negatively influence clear decision-making, and will
increase stress in the child or teen. These bad effects are demonstrated in a
number of different ways.
A.
Involved in vices
According to the Statistics on Peer Pressure that teens with friends who do drugs and drink alcohol are more likely to convince and to do the same.
Many teenagers are being involved in vices because
as they it is essential and if missed out, you never completed the stage of
life. You can really experience the life that they are saying but vices cannot
be included with this. You should never allow yourself to pursue the things
that have nothing to do with the development of your life. Having vices can be
really risky because it concerns more of your health. As a teenager, temptation
can be a hard thing to refuse but come and take a look at those who has their
vices, spending a lot of money just for the sake their guilty pleasure. If as
early of your teenage life you’ve been involved with any kind of vices, you’ll
be the one to suffer in the future.
B.
Selfishness
Talking about people who do not take
considerations of others. Thinking about what those who have been too selfish
and not knowing the value of what they can do for the betterment of everybody.
That was the thing they called “selfishness.” Having peers can be essential but
the characters should also be in the scene. If you don’t want to see yourself
hanging yourself on the ground and seeing other people under you, hurting and
forgetting what they can feel, you are
not worthy of anything because being selfish is worthless. Your personality can
be a big thing to consider. You should never allow yourself to be in another
persona just to say you have your group. At the end of the day it is all about
yourself and how you can manage your life and to be in a decent manner.
C.
Laziness
Laziness is a thing that can never lead you to
anything. It is one of the most senseless manners in the world. If don’t move
for your future and you only think about of what pleasure you have right now,
do you think you can able to manage your life with a certain direction? Of
course, no! You should able to act as if you have plans for your future. As a teenager you should able to have goals
and aspects for you to have an inspiration to walk forward and reach for your
dreams.
D. Don’t
respect others
Above all if you want others to respect you, you
should able to have the capabilities to respect others. Well, if you just can’t
how you can expect that others will do a different thing to you. If you don’t
have respect for others you can’t be able to have the trust that you needed
just to have people who can consider leaning on you. Take note of the real
meaning of peers. You don’t need to be a hypocrite that respect is not needed
just because you have the same kind of people around you. Respect is needed
because world is composed of human, the same kind and you are not exempted to
refuse the sense of respect.
E. Being
materialistic
According to Elizabeth A. Marion teenagers considered as materialistic for the reason of their desires to fit in with their friends. Materialism in teenagers is an effect of peer pressure. Many teenagers feel the need for expensive things because their friends have them too. If you have peers that are always in the trend,
from the gadgets to the most trending clothes and any kind of stuffs, it is not
impossible for you to be materialistic. Envying what they have is not right
especially when you know you can’t afford that certain kind of stuffs. Being
qualified in a group does not require you to have what they have. Being
materialistic has nothing to do with your relationship with your peers unless
it is you who have problem. You should always take considerations of who you
are and not who you needed to be. If you have a group that understand every
little thing in you well that was really a blessing to consider. But if you
have the kind of peers who require you the things they have then simply get
out. You don’t need that such kind of people.
PEOPLE WHO
CONSIDERED AS GOOD PEERS
Good peers are the ones who make you a better
person. They are the one who helped you to achieve your dreams and the thing
you wanted in your life. They make every little thing easier. The one who you
enjoy to be with and complimenting you with every step you take. The one’s who
never take considerations of the differences. The one’s who accepted you for
who you are and especially the ones who influence you to do better.
A.
Top/honor Students
This kind of people is the one who can really help
you to achieve your dreams. They are the one who spend much of their time and
effort on making their way to success. It wouldn’t be as easy as we think it
is, but with this people it is possible for you to enjoy the journey towards
success. They are the one who value every challenge of life and making a way to
just step on it and face another challenge. They are the one who accepted what
life can give. You should be with them because of their passion, and simply
because they can help you to achieve what you want in your life.
B. People
with credibility
This kind of people value everything they have and they consider the opinion of the people
around them. They respect the people the way they want people to respect them.
They give importance of the things they achieve and making a way just to
maintain the things they already achieved. They value life and if you have them
in your life, you can able to manage the things you already have and they will
help you to be in the right direction.
PEOPLE WHO
CONSIDERED AS BAD PEERS
Bad peers are people who pressure an individual to do illegal, to cause harm to others or yourself, and to harm others or yourself. This peers exist and it’s up to you whether you
wanted them in your life. If you are wise you won’t give them the chance to
influence you to be in the bad side. You are the only one who can decide. You
hold your life; you are the one whose walking in the direction you wanted to
be. You are the one who’s making a way.
If you pursue the things that can make your life better, you don’t have
to consider the temptation of life. All you have to do is to ignore the things
that will make your life a lot more complicated.
A. Addicts
People are aware of the teenagers that being
involved in drug addictions, and different kind of vices. Most of the teenagers
choose to be in this path. But, does life require you to have these pleasures.
If you really have the ability to do what is right, you’ll never choose to be
with this kind of people. Addiction can lead you to hell. It will never help
you to make a direction and the path of making your life better. Bad health is
all they can give. Health is wealth, if you have the guts to be a healthy
individual you can able to do everything.
B.
Trouble-Minded
If you are in the legal age and you are involved
in the troubles, you should be punished. And if you’re still a minor, will you
allow yourself to be involved in troubles? You should able to act in a good way
because it is your credibility that you should value. People should see you
making your own way to have your dreams of your own and not just see you with
people who’s doing nothing but involved themselves in troubles just to prove
that they are superior. Superiority is all about respect and not just about
defeating other people. Maybe defeating the bad things are superiority because
you can able to manage to do good things.
