|
Shake off peer pressure
 Ever had a smoke? Ever had a drink? Ever done drugs? If you have, it's probably the result of your friends' nagging, right?
Making decisions on your own is hard enough, but when other people get involved and put pressure on you in some way or the other, it gets harder. A peer is a person of your own age who tries to influence you to do whatever he/she does. You learn from your peer, and your peers learn from you. The effect can be positive and negative, though in the present day's scenario, the negatives are higher.
Why do we give in to peer pressure?
Man's a social animal. We want to be in a group, act like the group and go along with the group in whatever we do. The idea that 'everyone's doing it' may affect most teenagers and they do what their peers do instead of following their personal judgment and common sense.
Experiments have shown that a person who knows the right answer may write a wrong one only because his/her peers write it. What's the big deal, everyone's doing it!
Listen to this teenager talk about peer pressure: 'You have to be tough, you have to swear, be rude to girls, you have to have a deep voice because if you don't you'll get hassled. They used to hassle me because of my slightly shrill voice, calling me gay. It's just that everyone's voice matured before mine.'
One in a big group squeals - "You've got to be macho. I don't mind because you get to do some pretty cool stuff like ride bikes. But you just do what they say - like when they say fight, you gotta do it. They say, 'Cmon, don't be chicken' and stuff like that.”
The Chennai example -"Machi, Oru Dum Adicha Onnum Cancer Varadhu Da....Enna, Vendama?....Tayirsadam Da Nee..."
Can one overcome peer pressure?
It is hard to walk away from peer pressure, but it can be done. The secret lies in having a strong idea in your mind on what is right and what is wrong. Self-confidence and inner strength can help you stand firm, and resist doing something which you know shouldn't be done. Every one of us would have had lectures from our parents and teachers on choosing our friends. A big reason for this is because of peer pressure. The old adage that 'association brings assimilation' holds true: if you choose friends who smoke, drink and do drugs, you would probably be tempted to do the same.
The best way to overcome a friend who offers you a cigarette without being made fun of is to just laugh away the whole matter, and tell him you are in no mood for a smoke. Or better, try avoiding that friend and join other groups of 'padips', at least for a short while when your pals are having a smoke. And, try your best in helping your friends shake off every bad habit they have.
Srinivasa
Ramanujam
Published on 17th March, 2004
More
Articles
|
