During each high school career, peer pressure seems to be just part of growing up; however, some of the choices made by feeling the effects of peer pressure can have major repercussions that can affect students, their friends, and their reputation.

A Triton junior spoke about their interaction with peer pressure, “I don’t do drugs and stuff and people just tried to force things like Juuls and alcohol on me…it made me feel like I had to do it.”

What is peer pressure? Peer pressure is the influence from friends and peers to do certain actions that your conscience may not agree with. This includes: drinking, smoking or anything else you have a bad feeling about and/or simply do not want to do at a get together or party with your friends and peers.

Peer pressure is something all teens face whether it is visible or not. Everybody makes mistakes and can learn from them of course, but slowly teens (as a whole) need to understand certain choices they make on a whim, can affect them in the near or distant future.

Another student spoke about peer pressure and said, “Everyone was smoking around me and I was like ‘I don’t want to be that loser.’ I didn’t want everyone to think I’m just the weird one in the corner, so I did it. I didn’t feel too much pressure to do it, but in the moment it was weird not to do what my peers were doing.”

Once you give into peer pressure, it may appear to become a reoccuring thing. After the first time falling under peer pressure to do something like smoking, or drinking, people may feel as if  they did it once without getting caught; therefore, doing it again won’t affect them as much as breaking the ice the first time it was done depict students.

Whether you’re being peer pressured or peer pressuring someone else, equal consequences still stand.

After speaking with students whom had been peer pressured, one that found themself in the situation of peer pressuring somebody spoke about their experience.

“The boys were chilling, and we were smoking except for one of them and we told him to smoke. And he did. He seemed nervous but he was alright,” shared a Triton senior.

Teens frontal lobes are still lengths away from being completely formed. Therefore, they tend to jump into action as soon as they get a taste of doing something rebellious simply because they do not feel as though any consequences will stand; this leads to students falling into peer pressure easily.  

Next time if there is a situation where peer pressure is taking place, beware of the consequences and risks that may be associated with the actions.  It could be apparent at the time that no serious consequences could happen after pursuing peer pressure, or taking part in it. Although, it could always backlash in a future career or a personal life.

Next time peer pressuring is taking place, there are many steps that can be taken to elimated falling for it. For example, leaving the situation and/or the place could eliminate the situation as a whole. Also, knowing that saying “no” is okay and in fact may eliminate any consequences caused in the long run. Additionally, visting the website, https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/peer-pressure-and-fitting could help students as well as their peers to find ways to identify and deal with peer pressure affectively.