BBC School Report Day

Peer Pressure and how it can affect you.

What is pressure? What do you first think of when you here the verb pressure? It is when you attempt to persuade or coerce someone into doing something they might not feel comfortable with or don’t want to do. However, peer pressure is more common in youth’s lives, especially teenagers.

Why do teens often doubt their appearance? There is not specific reason why teen’s fear  how they look, but most people want to be accepted or be able to ‘fit in’ and it’s hard being the only one doing something different; this can often link to the use of products or makeup. Also, teenagers feel like they should break the school dress codes to seem ‘cool’ and to fit in. Therefore, this can lead to pressure in school, work, appearance and anxiety of rejection. Statistics - 67% of teenage girls are pressured to dress a certain way. -41% of teenagers are pressured into changing their behavior in a negative way -51% of teens feel like 52% of peer pressure is positive. -In general, students feel pressured about 49%  of the time. What are the causes?  Peer pressure can be caused by a need to belong, fear of being made fun of, or just hanging out with the wrong people. Being pressured into certain things can often lead you into trouble. Recent surveys show that pressure in appearance for young people is an increasing problem, resulting in lack of confidence. How to deal with it? ü  Change the subject. This is one of the ways to resist peer pressure. ü  Choose a different friendship group. Whilst it’s hard to say goodbye to friends, it is even harder to say no to peer pressure. ü  Tell a guardian or teacher. We are sure they will help you. By Aisha, Liv, Ara, Mackenzie and Dania