Peer Pressure

Peers influence your life, even if you don't realize it, just by spending time with you. You learn from them, and they learn from you. It's only human nature to listen to and learn from other people in your age group.
Peer pressure is one thing that all teens have in common. You can't escape it. It is everywhere. Whether it is pressure to conform to a group norm or pressure to act, peer pressure is something everybody has to deal with at some time in his or her life.
Children, especially during adolescence, begin to spend a lot more time with their friends, and less time with their family. This makes them more susceptible to the influences of their peers.
Some kids give in to peer pressure because they want to be liked, to fit in, or because they worry that other kids might make fun of them if they don't go along with the group. Others go along because they are curious to try something new that others are doing. The idea that "everyone's doing it" can influence some kids to leave their better judgment, or their common sense, behind.
How successfully you handle peer pressure depends a great deal on how you feel about yourself and your place in the world. There are certain "risk factors" for peer pressure, personality traits that make you more prone to give in to peer pressure.                                                              
Peer Pressure is two types; such as positive and negative peer pressure.  Peers may pressure others into negative behaviors or away from positive behaviors, but can push in positive directions as well. Not all teens react to peer pressure in the same way. Gender and age are factors.
It is tough to be the only one who says "no" to peer pressure, but you can do it. Paying attention to your own feelings and beliefs about what is right and wrong can help you know the right thing to do. Inner strength and self-confidence can help you stand firm, walk away, and resist doing something when you know better.
Students' Oxygen movement view
29/07/2012