Peer pressure for high school students can cause so much damage not only for the students themselves but for their education as well. According to an article written by Alyssa Damm, peer pressure is when something causes conflict in an individual's life because it’s the feeling of not fitting in, not being good enough, and not being a part of the “group”
Although school is given to us for an education, it can also be a place where you can develop relationships with many different people, join clubs and activities, and participate in different sports.
Peer pressure can make your 4 years of high school filled with different emotions, including happiness, anger, sadness, jealousy, stress, and many other emotions.
A report by Juliana Menasce Horowitz & Nikki Graf, states that 35% of girls usually feel pressured to look good while 23% of boys usually feel pressured to look good.
Negative peer pressure can encourage you to do the wrong things including drinking, smoking, cheating on a test, participating in sexual activities, lying, skipping class, trying drugs, etc which could put their health at risk.
Negative peer pressure can also affect your mental health. It can decrease self-confidence, poor academics, distance from family and friends, increase in depression and anxiety.
As reported by Alyssa Damm, it states that statistics say between 20% - 30% of adolescents report symptoms of depression because of peer pressure.
Most of us really only pay attention towards the negative side of peer pressure and don’t pay much attention towards the positive side of peer pressure.
Positive peer pressure can include pushing a friend to study harder, pushing them for better grades, disapproving of bigoted jokes or gossiping, looking down on illegal or risky behaviors, etc.
A report by Juliana Menasce Horowitz & Nikki Graf, also states that 97% of girls end up having a job or career they enjoy while 93% of boys end up having a job or career they enjoy.
Although there is both negative and positive peer pressure, negative peer pressure is something that should try to be avoided at all times during your 4 years of high school. Learning how to say no, standing up for yourself, walking away, and focusing on yourself is the key to staying clear from peer pressure.
