Succumbing to Peer Pressure

A well said quote which goes as, “Friends and books should be few and good”, it surely does matter a lot when one has to choose the group where they prefer to be seen with by the outsiders. When we are toddlers and we enter, the hallowed portals of a school, as children we always seem to live in the fear of every stranger that we come across when we enter the premise and cry because every face is new and equally horrifying to us, especially that of the teachers, who seem to appear as the “Bogey Man” of the many horror stories narrated by our mom’s.

So amongst that huge crowd when we find the mild looking person, who is of our age, tiny and terrified, we tend to get along well with that kid and slowly similar terrified looking kids join the group and by the end of a week, we don’t even realise that we are all best buddies. But, there is one stark difference between toddlerhood friendship and friendship in youth days. Youngsters mostly tend to be the one who like to go along with the crowd, i.e. the ones who are popular and loved by the teachers, considered to be cool etc.

It is not bad to be with them, but what we should keep in mind is whether the group of friends we choose are the real friends or just “friends for benefit”. Real friends who can vouch for you whenever you need their help are rare to find, but if one does then the person surely has hit the jackpot.

Peer pressure has often led to serious offensive acts that have taken place in schools and colleges and in certain events have led to the youngster’s death. The usual cases reported on incidents that were a result of peer pressure includes that of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, getting caught in sex racket cases and recently the trends of the rave parties, which is taking the reputation of the present generation youngsters down the drains.

To be responsible for one’s own actions is a very responsible attitude that is present in very few people today. Unleashing one’s own freedom rights is good, but good to the extent where you are not violating others freedom. However, very few people do wish to take advice and hence are the ones who mostly get into bigger troubles in life. Before life gives you a bigger jolt, wake up and be responsible citizens.

Minu Aravind is a self-motivated writer and blogger with an ability to develop unique content, is associated with Top ten IGCSE Schools in Bangalore. She is a strong advocate of high-grade education, and focuses to develop blogs and articles in the field of education, parenting, and child development and so on.