Hey Crusaders, and welcome back to another CN Blue and Gold article. Closing out the holiday season and nearing the months of summer, I think it’s a good time to talk about peer pressure. So what is peer pressure? Well there are many different types of peer pressure to talk about. A basic definition of peer pressure could be, the act of being influenced by others to make a decision or to do something. When we hear the words, “peer pressure”, we automatically think negative, but peer pressure can also be others trying to influence you in a positive way. An example of positive peer pressure could be, one of your classmates encouraging you to finish an assignment or study for a test. Although peer pressure can be positive it is a much more serious situation when someone is pressuring you negatively. 

Negative peer pressure can include spoken and unspoken pressure. Now I know what you’re thinking, how could peer pressure happen “unspoken”.  Unspoken peer pressure is when you, the individual, can be influenced by the peoples actions around you. For example, if you’re at a party and see people drinking underage you might be influenced to join them even without anybody asking you. While unspoken peer pressure is more about who the individual chooses to surround themselves with and whether or not to listen to that voice in your head, spoken peer pressure is caused by other people directly asking you to do something. Here is an example of spoken peer pressure, you get a ride with someone to a party and after the party your ride is under the influence. They might tell you to get in the car and that they are ok to drive, but if you listen to them the outcome could be fatal. If you are ever faced with a situation that you are not comfortable with you have every right to say no and go do something else instead. A survey stated that 90% of teens have been affected by peer pressure and most of the time the outcomes weren’t good. After reading this I hope that you understand the negative ways peer pressure can affect you, and that you now have the wisdom to think for yourself, and learn that it is ok to say no to keep yourself from dangerous situations.