Informative Essay: What Is Peer Pressure?

If you 're like most people, you probably have friends, friends that you want to respect you, to like you, and to support each other. You would most likely do anything for them. This is good, it shows your trust and loyalty, but, one day, your friends might pressure you to do something you 're uncomfortable with. Would you do it? Peer pressure is a powerful tool; it is influence from someone of similar age or interest. Co-workers, friends, classmates, and family are all common examples of peers. All of us feel peer pressure many times in our daily lives. Peer pressure is most often used as a negative force because most of the time peers just want us to change our identity to fit in better, it can lead to risky decisions, and can cause …show more content…
A graphic by Ralph Hagen comically represents such a case of peer pressure. This cartoon depicts a cow standing at the edge of a farm and wooded area. Across from the cow is a gang of wild animals. The animals are saying to the cow, "Look, if you 're going to hang out with us, first thing you gotta do is lose the bell." However, the cow 's face shows his discomfort at the thought. This cartoon demonstrates how our friends sometimes try to change us to fit in by society 's standards instead of our own. The problem is that people are likely to follow what their friends say. In fact, in "Peer Pressure has a Positive Side," by Annie Murphy Paul, she states, "statistics show that a teenage driver with a same-age passenger in the car is at a higher risk of a fatal crash." The teen driver may be a great student who follows all the rules, but their friends can easily sway them to change this at times. They are at a higher risk of a deadly crash because of peer pressure. Their peers might not be directly telling them to speed up or drive more adventurous, they could simply just be trying to get them to look at something on their digital device. Even basic peer pressure can lead to unnecessary