The Impact of Peer Pressure on Well-being
March 24, 2024
Has there ever been a time in your life when you were doing something because you saw that others around you were doing it? It could have been trying a new trend on social media, adopting a lifestyle choice, or making a decision that you would not have considered otherwise, these examples usually stem from a powerful yet subtle force known as peer pressure.
Adolescence and Peer Influence
As young people begin to sort themselves into social groups, there are pressures to adopt values, styles and interests that their friends have. During adolescence, individuals become more sensitive to the opinions and behaviours of their peers, making them more susceptible to peer pressure. It is known that during this development time, brains undergo changes making them highly attuned to social situations and the reward system becomes extra sensitive. This can lead to behaviour alterations to fit in due to caring more about what others think of them and trying to avoid rejection. While being influenced by things such as interests, hobbies and values can help individuals learn to fit in and make friends, it can also result in negative behaviours such as drinking alcohol, smoking or bullying. A study by Drinkaware found that 60% of young adults who drink alcohol believed pressure to drink to be common among their peers and people who drank as a result of peer pressure regretted the decision later. Peer pressure can also result in bullying behaviours, Substance abuse and risky or criminal behaviour because it can cause a fear of being teased or physically hurt for not conforming.
The Stanford Prison Experiment: A case study in peer influence
The Stanford Prison Experiment serves as a striking example of how easily people can change their behaviour when feel under pressure from others. In the study, volunteers were assigned roles as either prisoners or guards in a simulated prison environment. All the volunteers knew it was a game, but the guards quickly started acting unkindly and cruelly toward the prisoner, who in turn started feeling scared and powerless. This shows how easily people can change their behaviour in certain situations, especially when feeling pressured to do so by others around them. It teaches us that our actions can be influenced by the people we are with, even if it goes against our feelings or values.
Modern peer pressure
The Youth Medical Journal suggests that social media makes dealing with peer pressure more difficult because followers view social media influencers as peers. Influencers collaborate with brands to promote products and services. However, they can promote unrealistic lifestyles or body types that can lead to negative body images. The NHS medical director argues that the dangerous weight loss products that have been promoted have damaging effects on the physical and mental health of those who follow them. A survey commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation found that 47% of young people had experienced significant stress concerning body image and worries about their body image and worries about their appearance. The findings suggest that social media plays a significant role in shaping body image perceptions and mental well-being among young people, contributing to stress and negative self-image.
Exploring the impact of masculinity pressure
Other examples of peer pressure include teenage boys feeling pressure to feel “masculine” by feeling like they should not show emotions and appear strong, discouraging health-positive behaviours. Research suggests that young people who are pressured into feeling this way may not take time for self-care and are less likely to seek help from healthcare professionals. A survey found that 90% of boys experience pressure to conform to the “masculine” and the most common forms of pressure are being told to “man up” and “take it like a man”. Boys who had this experience were more likely to have lower self-esteem and commit violence against or experience violence from other boys.
Understanding the negative impacts of peer pressure and strategies for resilience
Peer pressure can have a negative consequence on well-being because it can decrease self-confidence, and self-worth and cause low academic performance, distancing from family and friends, or an increase in depression and anxiety. Therefore, it is essential to take measures to resist peer pressure.
It is important to stay true to your values, find a group of people that make you feel comfortable and find positive coping mechanisms. It is all about peer quality and not quantity. It is key to understand that it is not ok to do something your friends are asking if it is making you feel upset or uncomfortable. A true friend is someone who respects your decision not to join in. Friends give you the space to share your feelings, to give new perspectives, or even just do fun activities with them. But it’s the quality of those friendships that have an impact. High-quality friendships provide validation of your self-worth, whereas low-quality friendships can lead to conflict, criticism, aggression and poor academic performance.
To create these high-quality friendships it is important to:
- Talk about both the negative and positive things in your day
- Look for healthy activities to do together such as going out for walks
- Encouraging each other to keep up good habits like physical activity, healthy eating and getting a good night’s sleep.