“If you are not able to wear the dress, you cannot fit in” As much as this sounds like a small one sentence, what one  doesn’t know is that such words can even mutate into 10 years of liability and desperation. The desperation that arises when they  need to buy something that they can’t afford, the desperation that arises when they  need to do  something they simply  don’t like. For instance, going to a  shopping mall and suddenly catching your eyes on two dresses. Your mind is fighting the choice  between whether you would wear the dress which “impresses” others or the one which impresses yourself. That’s how peer pressuring works, that’s how you need to compromise what’s truly yours. 

According to a study conducted by ‘scripps clinic Rancho Bernardo’, Gurinder Dabhia, MD states that “a teenager’s brain is only 80% developed.” She further added that “teens have extra unconnected synapses in the area where risk-assessment occurs, and this gets in the way of judgment. In addition, the prefrontal cortex is underdeveloped, which makes teens more sensitive to peer pressure. 

Being a teenager is a transition between adulthood and childhood. They  fight the urge between multiple choices just to “fit in” and their  brain is constantly fluctuating and it gives them  the easiest chance to be indoctrinated by peers. As a result, they get involved with “not so good” activities such as smoking, doing drugs, bullying and worrying about body image. It shatters their confidence into thinking that they can’t be cool just because they are the black sheep of their friends group.

A research conducted showed that about 40% of girls and 23% of boys are dissatisfied with their body. 

“Stay involved in your teen’s life and know whom they admire and spend time with,” says Dr. Dabhia, Scripps medical 

Parents play a great role that impacts a child’s lifestyle. The more parents are out of touch, the more children are reluctant to have good guidance. Thus, they often get involved in things that wouldn’t make them feel alone in a friend’s group. 

Rather than being harsh, parents should guide their children in a friendly way and communicate with their children about the choices they make influenced by friend groups. They should make children confident about body image and choices. 

Sources 

https://www.scripps.org/news_items/4648-how-does-peer-pressure-affect-a-teen-s-social-development