Peer pressure is a very common issue that we have nowadays. Throughout your lifetime you might have noticed negative peer pressure going around. According to a study conducted by the foundation for a Drug-Free World said, “55% of people confessed to having trying drugs for the first time because they felt pressured by their friends to do the same”, (Borkar, R., 2018, pg.1), later on, the same foundation found out that, “70% of teens who actively smoke, said that they started smoking because their friends smoked, or because they felt pressured to try smoking”, (Borkar, R., 2018, pg.1). It turns out that most people weren't just pressured to only do drugs or smoke, they were even pressured to drop out of school. You should spread awareness about peer pressure because it’ll decrease the number of people who would fall for peer pressure, by spreading an awareness you’ll inform others about how they could identify it, and it would show others how to deal with it and get out of the situation.
What You Could Do
By talking about this issue more you’d make the people that are going through it much more comfortable to talk about it. This would happen because it would show that many other people have experienced it and have gone through the same thing that they are experiencing. According to a support group website it says “...they would get a sense of belonging and support...”. (Writers, S., November 28, 2018, pg.1) This shows that talking about past experiences with peer pressure brings a feeling that the victims are supported. By informing them about the signs and ways how to identify it would support them.
By raising awareness of this topic you could help others by showing them how to identify when they are in a situation with peer pressure. This would happen by giving the victims the information that they need to know when they are being pressured to be a certain way. In an article, it states, “Poor self-esteem and low levels of self-confidence are consistently identified as factors in peer pressure that leads to risky and destructive behaviors”, (Rasmussen, T., March 18 2018, pg.1). This shows that giving the signs to others is very important because it helps others to identify when they are in a situation with peer pressure. By giving the information to others you will make them realize that they are being pressured to do this and it will eventually help them to get out of the situation.
By raising awareness you’ll give them ways to get out of the situation that they are in and it’ll show them how to deal with it. This would help them because it’ll give them different options to resort to when being peer pressured, then they would be better prepared when they’re in a tough situation. In an article about helping others with peer pressure, it says, “...by talking about the different ways to avoid/ leave the situation it would help them...” (Writers, S., November 28, 2018, pg.1). This shows that by giving all of the information that someone needs about peer pressure would help them a lot.
There are many ways to help someone who’s struggling with peer pressure overall. By raising awareness to peer pressure you would help everyone around you and yourself. As simple as you just talking to someone about the issue would help them feel supported. By helping someone to identify peer pressure in certain situations would also help a lot. It could mean a ton by giving a victim the information of how they could end the situation and leave it.
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