By Anastasios Tzefrios

           A great deal is being written and said about peer pressure. It is generally agreed today that peer pressure as an empirical phenomenon has been observed repeatedly among young people and it can cause a multitude of problems. Whether it is positive peer pressure or negative peer pressure, it can affect the adolescent. It can be very strong for everybody because we all want approval and acceptance. As far as I am concerned, I would like to discover the consequences of peer pressure. However, solutions can be found, and if adolescents are given the right advice on handling it, they will feel more confident.

To begin with, a common danger is the stress that adolescents feel, when they are subjected to peer pressure. More specifically, the compromises they have to make in order to be accepted by a group of peers may contrast with their interests and desires and of course this is most stressful for any teenager. Furthermore, peer pressure may lead to adolescents’ risky behaviour and illegal acts such as shoplifting. What is more, peer pressure can even lead to drink, smoke, cheat on a test, lying, etc. On top of all that, peer pressure can influence performance at school. For instance, teenagers are less willing to study when their friends of their group do not consider studying important.

Nevertheless, there are ways to deal with the problem effectively. First and foremost, being able to stand up to peer pressure is important.

As far as I am concerned, teenagers should realise that they have the right to reject doing something if they do not feel comfortable with it. Last but not least, it is important to emphasize that it is better for adolescents to find some friends with common interest so as not to be subjected to peer pressure. Only when teenagers put the aforementioned solutions into practice, will they see positive results. Thus, all of these points given above prove that were we to make an essential change in our lifestyle, we could start by cutting down on this common phenomenon among teenagers these years because of the harmful consequences.

          To sum up, it is obvious that the problems resulting from peer pressure are serious but, fortunately, there are measures which can be taken to solve them and tackle the problem effectively.