You don’t have to travel the world to know how much teens can do to please their peers. Some learn how to smoke, snort drugs, or participate in sexual activity early. Others tend to commit a criminal offense because their so-called friends asked them to do so. When the time comes to pay for their mistakes, though, the latter disappears and acts as if they never hung out together.
Those are only a few of the bad things you might experience once you join the wrong set of friends. “This is a complex point, because people tend to think of adolescence as the time when teenagers are really susceptible to peer pressure,” said Jennifer H. Pfeifer PhD. The other reasons to never give in to peer pressure can be seen below.
- You Are Smart
Yes, you are smart. Most teens are, although some prefer to show a different façade. You know how to circumvent problems. You can figure out what’s genuinely happening around you whether an adult talks about it or not.
However, when you allow the wrong crowd to influence you, these people can dumb you down. All of a sudden, you have no way to distinguish right from wrong. You forget the lessons from your parents – your only goal is to be a part of that group. When will you ever get to exercise your smarts if you stick around them?
- You Won’t Be Able To Decide For Yourself
When kids reach adolescence, it seems typical to ask your mom and dad to get off your case and trust your decision-making skills. You do not want them hanging around during your school practices because you are already “old enough” to stay there on your own. When shopping for clothes, you refuse to listen to your parents’ suggestions, believing that you understand fashion more than they do.
Well, giving in to peer pressure entails that you are letting someone else control your life. Not only will you have to follow a particular clothing style. You may just fit in if you talk and act like your friends. Yep, so much for exercising your freedom as a teenager. “In addition, teens who learn, or fail to learn, how to express independence and closeness with friends and partners during adolescence carry these skills forward into adult relationships,” says Rick Nauert PhD.
- You Might Dabble Into Things That Are Hard To Come Back From
As mentioned in the introduction, getting involved in a toxic friendship brings you closer than ever to dangerous activities. Most ill-meaning adolescents tend to believe that they are untouchable, that nobody can or should tell them what to do. They love defying rules and trying life-threatening stunts, e.g., illegal racing, betting, street fighting, burgling, and sometimes even buying and selling drugs. “Weigh risks against benefits,” advised Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D.
Think about this: if you get caught doing any of those things, how confident are you that no one will charge an offense against you? The justice system is practically in a state of equilibrium now, in the sense that your parents won’t be able to pay anyone to set you free. Then, you might serve time in prison, depending on how serious the case is.
If you wish to reduce your chances of going to jail as a juvenile, you should stay away from bad influences.
- You Deserve A Good Life
Irrespective of how much you justify the harmful things that your newfound friends are pressuring you to do, it remains as a fact that you are better off without them.
Why did you even want to join their group in the first place? If the reason is that they are all gorgeous and popular and you wish to be like them, well, that sounds sad. You should never be willing to give up your future to be in the spotlight for a while. If anything, you should befriend smart kids since brains last longer than beauty.
In case it is because you are tired of being an underdog at school, you can still shake off the bullies by standing up for yourself or speaking to the principal about the situation. There is no need to hide behind other teens – especially not if they are capable of hurting you later.
To Sum Things Up
All we want to say is that your happiness during the teenage years does not depend on the number of famous kids surrounding you. It is excellent if you can find real friends among them. However, considering once they start asking or teaching you to do bad things, you need to tap out. They want you to give in to peer pressure, which is not a smart teen like you should ever do.