Upturn Learning

Have you ever had a hard time figuring out what situation would pass for peer pressure and which would not? Or have you ever felt like you are being pressured into something by your friends but could not quite call it out because you were unsure if it was really the right choice to make?

As someone who has been educated about peer pressure since childhood, I still find it hard to identify when someone is being pressured by their friends to do something, even if it’s me. I also have a hard time figuring out if I should intervene and help out or not. Solutions or “the right-things-to-do” are not one way roads, but more like multi-lane roads in situations like this- there is never just one answer.

The simplest and best thing you could do if you think someone is being influenced by peer pressure is talk to them and let them know that they have a choice, and not a compulsion, to do something. Similarly, talk to someone when you feel that you are being pressured into something. Acknowledging that you don’t always have the time to discuss things with anyone as peer pressure could be a one-off incident or something you experience daily in different forms, I believe expressing yourself is essential. So even if you are not telling someone about how the peer pressure made you feel, writing it down would help.

Another way is talking directly with the person who made you feel pressured into doing something you did not want to. Since peer pressure would most likely involve a person and their friend or colleague, talking to them about how their actions made them feel would make them realise the impact of their words or actions and hold them accountable for their actions to avoid being pushed into something in the future that you didn’t wish to be a part of. Sometimes you may not expect a positive response from confronting your friend and thus refrain from confrontation altogether, but I want to let you know that a sincere friend would try not to influence you into doing something if you already expressed your discontent with it.

Finally, fight the peer pressure by learning to say ‘no’. Saying no to something means that you have enough self confidence and self respect to stand up for yourself. Saying ‘no’ can be very daunting for most people, but we’re all work-in-progress, and need to learn to say no to things we are not comfortable with.

Don’t beat yourself up for feeling pressured to do something by the people around you because peer pressure is more common than it may seem. All you have to do is learn to value yourself enough to put your comfort above the peer pressure and learn to trust your instinct when your mind is obviously blaring ‘I don’t want to do this!’

Urja is a fun-loving, energetic teen with a passion for writing and believes in having healthy discussions about various topics to gather perspectives. She wrote her very first poem in the fifth grade and has been writing poems and articles ever since. She also loves to read books and watch films and give her critical analysis on each scene, thanks to her English teachers. She landed the opportunity to write for UpTurn, which she thoroughly enjoys. She can’t wait to see what else comes her way in her literary journey.