Peer pressure

Peer pressure is influenced by the peer group members. It often happens to children during puberty. The group defines some social values. For somebody to stay "cool" in that group, they must act like other people. Social pressure (and wanting to be accepted or in favor inside the group) leads people to do things they would not do otherwise. For example, it can influence a person to smoke cigarettes or  marijuana, to drink alcohol, commit crimes, and many other things that they might regret.Most of the time,adolescents create a peer group of their age to enjoy themselves. They have strong faith and belief in their friends of the same group. The new desires, aspirations, and interests are developed because of the changes they experience. They become sensitive and sentimental.

When parents and society do not consider and address their needs, aspirations, and desires, they feel dominated and leave home to spend most of their time with their friends in peer groups. Sometimes they cannot get proper counseling and guidelines in these stages. Consequently, sometimes, they can fall prey to many bad habits. There are many positives and negatives to peer pressure. 

Peer pressure is commonly thought of negatively, but in reality, it's not always a bad thing. Sometimes peer pressure is used to influence people positively. Learning about acceptable group norms can be a positive part of learning how to live with and socialize with other people.  

Positive peer pressure, in which people are influenced to do nice things like give to charity, is usually a good thing.

 References 

Category:Psychology
Category:Sociology