Commercials pressure us. They attempt to persuade us to purchase their product or to try new ones. Sometimes, it is worth your money to sample the merchandise, and other times, not so much. However, there are instances when advertising does not influence us at all. Nonetheless, it is everywhere. This same concept applies to peer pressure, depending on who the person is and what situation they are in. Peer pressure is something which can wreck, enhance or have no effect on your life at all.




Without a doubt, there are negative outcomes of peer pressure. Sadly, the influence of our peers is very prominent at in junior high and high school and nearly impossible to escape. “The ugly reality is that peer pressure reaches its greatest intensity at just the age when kids tend to be most insensitive and cruel. (Mueller, Understanding Today’s Youth Culture)”. When children are acting “insensitive” and “cruel”, the results of peer pressure can be horrible- or even life-threatening such as addictions or drunk-driving. Moreover, wicked, evil, corrupt peer influence can be the source of terrible decisions leading into awful life-style choices. Alcoholics and drug addicts. These types of people usually begin their nasty habits at a young age; the age where people usually experiment with these substances because the people surrounding them bullied them into trying it. Undeniably, peer pressure can be destructive.




Positive. Positive is not the usual way of describing peer pressure. Nevertheless, the influence from our peers can improve our life. “Peer pressure can have many redeeming qualities. It is the pressure of our peers, after all, that gives us the support to try things we otherwise wouldn’t have. (Bill Treasurer)”. The people around us do not have to induce us to partake in destructive activities; the pressure they put on us can encourages us to be practical and beneficial. Besides, peer pressure can be the root of our problems, but it can also be the solution. Although cohorts may be the reason a person began drinking, they may also be the source of their decision to quit. Support groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, run on the support the members give each other, since they do not desire to let each other –as well as themselves- down. Indubitably, there are advantages of peer pressure.




If everybody around you is doing it, do you? If everyone else owns one, do you have one as well? For some people, the answers are yes, and for others, no. The people, who answered no, are not easily swayed by other s and peer pressure, although the weight might be immense to follow the crowd. Mark Messier –a NHL hockey player- once stated “The only pressure I am under is the pressure I put on myself”. A number of individuals believe this too. Despite the fact peer pressure is almost inevitable, these people do not care what everyone else is doing, whether it is drinking, buying the newest technology, or dressing the same way, the peer pressure that is being placed on their shoulders doesn’t sway them. Nonetheless, this quality may be with someone their whole life unlike other individuals who acquire it as the age. “There’s one advantage to being 102. There’s no peer pressure. (Wolfberg, Humorous Quotes for All Occasions).” Many of our grandparents do not care whether their clothes are name brand, unlike their grandchildren. As people age, they tend to be less concerned with the new styles and brands. Indisputably, some individuals do not bother following the crowd, even if the persuasion of their peers is immeasurable.




Peer pressure is very much like advertising; an attempt to persuade people into experimenting with different products or trying new things. At times, the new experience was a terrible decision, but at others, a great idea; and sometimes you are not influenced by the pressure at all. However, it is always present in our lives -whether it is people walking down the street with identical purses or a support group, where everyone is helping and pressuring each other into becoming better people. In summation, peer pressure has the ability to ruin, improve or have no outcome in our life altogether. After all, it is everywhere.