PEER
PRESSURE
MAIN CONCERN
Peer pressure in short is one’s choice to do something not because of his will but of others’ influence. It is something very common to find, but is a big threat to mental health which can cause misbehaviour on the individual coping with it. Everyone from children until adults face this although teens are the main victims due to their age; when socializing has a huge role in their lives. As adolescents, they spend more time with their peers, causing them to be more physically and psychologically distant from their parents as it is visible from the decrease of emotional closeness and increasing conflict or disagreement in the relationship.
This issue is no longer foreign to any kind of environment, since the occurrence is happening inside our minds. It is triggered by one’s feeling of not being enough, unaccepted or plainly less prestigious than others and their seeking of approval. Victims usually force themselves to follow the trend so others can view them as someone who fits in, fearing that if they don’t, they will be ‘outcasts’. Peer pressure carries out a variety of impacts; both positive and negative into one’s life, for example: taking drugs, engaging in risky activities and breaking the rules as other people are doing it or instead ignore everything. All can be summed up into 3 main disadvantages caused by pressure which are: depression, having prodigal habits and a bad behaviour. Each of it has its own levels, from the mildest until the worst.
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Peer pressure has the ability to change people, although it depends on how each individual react upon it. Some become defensive, some turn into introverts, but some can become more assertive. Just like in physics, pressure is equal to force divided by the area; the bigger the area, the smaller the pressure. Translated to the real life context, the force represents the voices in your head and others’ negative feedbacks while the area is how firm of a person you are to stay true to yourself. So if the force is already big, you are the one to determine how big the pressure will impact you since you control how much you will be yourself. Nevertheless, it all draws back to one’s character.
FORCE
AREA
Editor's Note
THE MOST IMPORTANT MATTERS TO REMEMBER.
Both mindset and actions can be wrong. Blaming other people or things because of the obstacles or pressure we encounter will never be the right thing, but change can start from ourselves. Our actions can hurt and inflict peer pressure on other people if we judge other people like how we never want other people to judge us. Out of our consciousness, we might say words that make people feel small and unaccepted. However, it is okay to be wrong for now as you will learn to change and grow. Everyone set their standards as they look at their surrounding and unconsciously, they want to measure up. Merely by being online in the social media, people start comparing looks, wealth, reputation and fame. Sometimes, we feel that we are in a more superior level, and it feels good for a second to be better than someone else. However, we are aware that there is always someone better than us, and as that someone feels better than us, there are other people better than that person. The cycle continues, comparison is never-ending and we will never feel enough. But, there is no win in comparison, and by staying in the cycle, it can lead to all sorts of disadvantages. Trying to measure up will only bring us down. Everyone has their own talent and each of us is special, and no one has made a difference by being like everyone else. We all have our different calling so all this comparison should be put to a stop as we all have a future destined for us. The moment we let go of comparison is when true freedom come to our lives.