Peer pressure

Teenagers strive to fit in with their peers as they begin to spend less of their free time with their families and more of it engaged in activities with friends. Peer pressure can have negative and positive effects on teenagers. Peers can have a positive influence on each other. Maybe another student in your science class taught you an easy way to remember the planets in the solar system or someone on the soccer team taught you a cool trick with the ball. You might admire a friend who is always a good sport and try to be more like him or her. Maybe you got others excited about your new favorite book, and now everyone's reading it. These are examples of how peers positively influence each other every day. Sometimes peers influence each other in negative ways. For example, a few kids in school might try to get you to cut class with them, your soccer friend might try to convince you to be mean to another player and never pass her the ball.  Teens may aspire to get good grades and join a club that a peer whom they admire leads. Teens may also find themselves pressured into doing things, such as drinking or stealing, that they likely wouldn't engage in if they were on their own.