Peer Pressure: The Murderer of Teenage Creativity
Hello there!
You might be a
teenager reading this or you may be reading this out of curiosity or even
boredom. You may be wondering, “Why does this dude always pick the most boring
topics?” You may be right, but being a teenager, I believe that this
cancer—peer pressure—has eaten deep into our lives today.
You may not fully
understand what I'm talking about so lemme drive this point home. Remember that
time when you put on those skinny jeans not because you liked them, but because
most of your girl friends were doing so? That’s peer pressure. Remember that
time you sat down to watch a soccer game, not because you’re a big fan of the
game, but because you felt “guys are supposed to like soccer”? That’s also peer
pressure.
Peer pressure as I
have found out is one of the major causes of teen suicides. Remember that scene
in the American musical ‘Glee’ when the big husky guy attempted suicide because
he revealed that he was gay and the entire high school wanted to swallow him?
That’s also peer pressure. I our world today, peer pressure has gone beyond the
archaic form of being manipulated to do things simply because your peers are
doing the same. Peer pressure is now more subtle and targeted.
Who is most susceptible
to being influenced by this devil—peer pressure?
1.
People who are not self-aware. Once someone
has not achieved complete self-awareness (I would write another post on this
topic to explain better), that person is an easy prey to being swayed by the
turbulent currents of pressure from peers.
2.
People with insecurities. Never be insecure
about anything that affects you. Be content with what you have. Never feel
ashamed about any aspect of yourself. It is you, if people can’t accept you for
you, then let them f*** off.
3.
Egocentric people. I think I would rather
call these group of people ‘proud people’. Pride has led a lot of us teenagers
into doing a lot of things that we eventually regret. We try to defend our fragile ego by trying to
prove to our peer that ‘hey we can do this!’ This happens to us mainly through
these Truth or Dare games we play. We try to prove to our friends that we are
not chickens. That’s also peer pressure because we do not have any reason to
prove anything to them all we need do is BE WHO WE ARE.
From my research,
these are the most frequently manipulated kinds of people.
Lemme bore you a lil’
with a few statistics to buttress my point. It has been proven that:
- 23% of teen girls feel pressured to have sex by their peers (Source—The Body: The Complete HIV/AIDS Resource);
- 33% of teen boys between the ages of 15 and 17 feel pressured to have sex by their peers (Source—The Body: The Complete HIV/AIDS Resource);
- 55% of teens say they tried drugs for the first time because they were pressured by their friends (Source—Foundation for a Drug-Free World);
- 70% of teens who smoke said they tried it because they felt peer pressure from their friends (Source—Canadian Lung Association).
I'm so glad to be done
with that. You see what you make me do? Browse for statistics. Cos I love you,
my readers. Lol.
Okay, back to business:
How can you steer
clear of peer pressure?
It’s simple.
- 1.
Be self-aware. Know who you are. Know your
strengths and your weaknesses. When you do this, no sucker can wake up one
morning to define or manipulate you. - 2.
Be self-confident. This only comes when you
are self-aware. After discovering who you are, be confident about the man in
the mirror. - 3.
Choose your friends carefully. Choose people who share the same dreams and visions as you to be your friends. As the saying goes, “Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
Peer pressure however,
must not always be bad. There are also
positive effects of peer pressure. For example, I started blogging because of
peer pressure. I logged on to WhatsApp one day only to see one of my classmates
send me a message to view his blog. I did so, and I was amazed at how someone’s
thoughts and ideas could be made public for the world to see. I decided to
start mine. At first I wanted to use it to portray the beauty of Africa for the
whole world to see, but then I changed my mind. I decided to use it to touch
the lives of teenagers like me who are out there wallowing in a lot of bulls#!+…I
just wanted to change lives. So that’s my story.
Watch this video for more information on ways to get over peer pressure.
I hope you benefited from this article. Share your story with me on how peer pressure has affected
you whether positively or negatively.
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