What is it?

The feeling that someone your own age is pushing you toward making a certain choice, good or bad.

Example: A friend begs to borrow something you don’t want to give up

Peer pressure isn’t all bad. You and your friends can pressure each other into some things that will improve your health and social life and make you feel good about your decisions, or help you to avoid something bad

Good things friends can pressure each other to do:

~be honest

~respect others

~work hard

~resist negative peer pressure

Chances are you probably have given into peer pressure at some time. How did it make you feel?

Why is it so hard to avoid peer pressure?

• Want to be accepted and liked

• Afraid of being rejected by others

• Don’t want to lose a friend

• Want to seem grown up

• Don’t want to be made fun of

• Don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings

• Don’t know how to get out of the situation

Types of Peer Pressure

Spoken

A friend says something directly to you that puts a lot of pressure on you and makes it hard to say no

Unspoken

You might think you are supposed to act or dress a certain way because it seems like everyone else is doing it or it is the cool thing to do. You feel pressure even though nobody has said anything to you about it

Peer Pressure Bag of Tricks

Things friends will do to try to pressure you

Spoken

*Rejection-threatening to end a friendship

~”Who needs you as a friend anyway”

~”I’m not going to be your friend anymore if you don’t”

*Put Downs-insulting or calling a person names to make them feel bad

~”You’re never any fun”

~”You’re such a baby”

~”You’re so uncool”

*Reasoning- telling a person reasons why they should try something or why it would be ok if they did

~”It won’t hurt you”

~”Your parents will never find out”

~”You’ll have more fun”

Unspoken

This is something you feel without anyone saying anything to you. You feel unspoken pressure if you want to do the same things others are doing

~A group of popular kids decide to get the same backpack and you want one too even if you don’t really like it

Ways to Resist

Spoken

~say no over and over

~walk away

~change the subject

~ignore the person or situation

~suggest an alternative

~say you’re not allowed

~give a reason why you can’t

~go and do something else or hang out with someone else

~stand up for others

Unspoken

harder to resist because instead of standing up to friends, you’re standing up to how you feel inside