HW 5: Peer Pressure Isn't Always Bad

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, volunteer, 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.

Here are Good Effects that Peer Pressure can influence: 

Enhancing good study habits

 

According to this article entitled How Peers Influence Academic Performance that a study published by the Williams Project on the Study of Economics in Higher Education,it is proven stronger students do have an impact on their peers and can also actually help improve the overall academic performance of the peer group. It also shows that intelligent students help their peers bring up their grades. Students with good friends who are considered intelligent tend to do better in school.

As a student it is your obligation to yourselves to choose who will be your peers, and take consideration on how they can influence you not only in terms of improving your personality but also peers that would take you 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. Students should 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 you to achieve certain accomplishment when it comes to studying. Since there are lot of student who do not think about their peers could bring them, you should not be one of them. You should be one of those knowledgeable people who take the risk and fight for what is good for them, because at the end of the day it is still you who can hold your future. It is us who can do a way to make an improvement and make a way to achieve our goals in life.

    

    Spending leisure time wisely

According to the article entitled Influence of Peers on Exercise from the site called LIVESTRONG, 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.

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. The council cites research that shows children have three basic motivations for participating in physical activity. They 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

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/447741-influence-of-peers-on-exercise/#ixzz2DVhuawWN"

As a teenager, you can see that there are lots of ways to spend leisure time together with your friends. Peers should help you to spend your leisure time wisely. Instead of shopping, you can do physical activities to enhance your lifestyle. You don’t need to spend a lot of money just to enjoy and have certain bonding with friends. You can make it easy and wisely if you just think of what you can do to improve the bonding and make it easy for each of the member; you should think of something that you can actually do to express yourself in the group. It can be through a natural way.

    Avoiding vices

According to this article entitled Quitting Smoking Is Contagious made by Alice Park,that 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 we should be able to choose those people who can help us to be a more effective individual not to make you in the bad side of life. You should be able to have what it takes to be competitive especially it is important to have the guts to make a way to your 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. You should 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 your life. Not even a single stick of cigarette, or just a certain shot of alcoholic beverage. You should choose the group who will take you to be have a better living not those who will give you sufferings.

    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 you are being acting it out in front of other people. It is easy for you to express what you feel, but it is not easy to take consideration on what others may feel. But it is just a sense of adjustment, because of 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.

 

     Having consideration for others

It is your responsibility to be sensitive enough to handle the group. Respect for the individual difference and consider what you need to consider. 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.

     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.

Remember that not all peer pressure is negative. If we choose our friends wisely, they can lead us in a positive directions. Our friends can also have a positive influence on us. It is very important that our friends respects our standards. Make friends with others who do well at school, show respect for others, and do not abuse drugs and alcohol, or smoke. Having friends like this makes life a whole lot easier and at the same time fun.