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Genre 1

The term peer pressure has become highly associated with the use of drugs and alcohol
over the past several decades in American society. However, when you break down the terms, a
peer is simply a person of equal social class or age, and pressure is simply a force. This
force could be positive or negative in nature. Adolescents are a demographic considered highly
susceptible to peer pressure, as they are still forming personal identity and craving a sense of
social belonging (Simons-Morton & Farhat, 2010; Simons-Morton et al., 2012). By openly
discussing the nuances of peer influence with high school students and deliberated facilitation
activities to build peer relationships, teachers may empower them to see their peer relationships
as a tool for their own growth (Shook & Keup, 2012). The concept of peer pressure can be
demystified. This essay will explore a vast continuum of peer pressure and demonstrate through
literature how an individual may be a victim of peer pressure, as is commonly observed, but also
how they may be the beneficiary of it. To appropriately demonstrate the full spectrum of peer
pressure in American society today, the essay will be organized by the nature of peer pressure
exhibited in the text; the argument will begin with the literature that demonstrates the most
socially criticized form of peer pressure and build towards the text that establishes most socially
accepted (even encouraged!) form of peer pressure.
Christian poet Calvin Hart encapsulates the complexity of peer influence in his original
poem Peer Pressure. The poem may be divided into two distinct halves. The first half is
comprised of Harts fear of traditional substance peer pressure, as Hart ponders will they think
Im uncool? (18) if he does not partake in drinking and smoking with his peers. In the second
half of the poem, Hart expresses his own brand of peer pressure, religion. If I should ask those
friends of mine/To kneel with me and pray/ Would they shake their heads? (32-34) he
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wonders. How is Harts repeated invitation to join him in religious action different from his
peers repeated invitation to imbibe? Religion does not alter our physical state or carry the same
social stigma as a drug.
Substance peer pressure can also be seen in John Greens Y.A. novel Looking for Alaska.
The novels protagonist begins to smoke and drink underage while away at a secondary boarding
school in order to fit in with his new peer circle. When initially offered a cigarette, the
protagonist takes a conformist approach, I had never had a cigarette before, but when in
Rome (p. 128). This fictional characters thinking supports the 2010 real-world findings of
The Journal of Primary Prevention, which reinforce the idea that an adolescent is more likely to
take up smoking and become a habitual smoker if they are in a peer circle with smokers
(Simons-Morton & Farhat). In Stephen Chboskys The Perks of Being a Wallflower, protagonist
Charlie mentions that his friend Brad was pretending to be a lot drunker than he really was (p.
44).The matter-of-fact way that Charlie explains this situation suggests the normality of using
substances to excuse behavior in his peer circle. Similarly to Looking for Alaska, Chboskys
Y.A. novel reflects real-world peer pressure statistics. A survey conducted by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services reports that 74.3% of high school students have tried
alcohol (Peer Pressure).
James Frey writes of the extreme long-term consequences of this kind of substance peer
pressure in his autobiography A Million Little Pieces. A relapsed alcoholic, Frey urges his
readers to be accountable for their individual decisions stating, There is always a decision. Take
responsibility for it. Addict or human. It's a fucking decision. Each and every time (p. 256).
Frey believes in the individuals personal freedom to fall to or rise against peer pressure. He
faults himself rather than his peer circle for his alcohol dependent state and the chaos it has
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caused in his life. The substance peer pressure that Hart, Green, Chbosky, and Frey all depict is
arguably the most publicized form of peer pressure and is heartily discouraged by public
advertisements, public figures, and society as a whole.
Slightly less criticized in society is groupthink or mass peer pressure. William Golding
warns us of the negative consequences of succumbing to mass peer pressure in the canonical
novel Lord of the Flies. Golding creates an all-male adolescent dystopia that must build
community and establish law and government in order to survive. The community is eventually
destroyed and the destruction can only be accredited to groupthink, a psychological phenomenon
fueled by the individuals desire for conformity or harmony (Baron, 2005). Falling to mass peer
pressure, several boys murder a friend in a particularly disturbing vignette because they found
themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society"(p. 152). Peer
pressure to belong, to join the side of the masses, brought out the savage in the boys. This kind
of going along with the crowd is considered very negative in society, particularly in
adolescence. We can see this plainly in American clichs such as If everyone else jumped off a
cliff, would you?, and Dare to be different.
Halfway between publicly criticized and publicly accepted on the peer pressure
continuum is generic friendship pressure that accompanies all peer-to-peer relationships.
Francisco Storkss young adult novel Marcelo in the Real World introduces his readers to an
adolescent character set apart from his peer circle by a learning disability, who must
repeatedly discern between positive and negative peer influences at his summer internship in
order to make hard ethical decisions. Stork manifests negative peer influence in the form of
Wendell, a fellow intern who pressures the protagonist, Marcelo, to help him with his
unchivalrous romantic endeavors. Over lunch, he tells Marcelo, It won't matter what she
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feels about me. I'll take care of her feelings (p. 125). He presses Marcelo to connect him
with his conquest repeatedly although Marcelo is openly reluctant. The character of Wendell
reflects peer pressure statistics accurately; The Kaiser Foundation reports that about 50% of
teenagers feel pressured with regard to sex in relationships (Peer Pressure).
Positive peer influence comes from Jasmine, another coworker who pressures Marcelo to
gain independence by performing office errands alone and joining her on a weekend trip to
Vermont. Although far outside his comfort zone, Marcelo experiences an inner peace on this trip
that inspires him to move to Vermont by the novels close. By presenting these opposing
character forces in his novel, Stork highlights how everyday peer influence can be positive or
negative pending the moral thought behind it. This friendship peer pressure, pressure to please
ones peer circle, is negative in that it often pushes an individual into a situation they are
uncomfortable with, but due to its ubiquitous nature across all age groups and contexts, is not as
harshly criticized as substance peer pressure or mass peer pressure.
Jerry Spinellis Y.A. novel Stargirl is, in many ways, the quintessential tale of an
adolescent overcoming this kind of pressure to please peers and adhere to their standards. Unlike
the protagonist in Storks novel, Stargirl is not set apart from her peers by race or learning
disability, but by fashion, hobbies, and other conscious elements of self. The novels narrator
reveals to readers that on Stargirls first day at her new school, No one sat with her, but at the
tables next to hers kids were cramming two to a seat (p. 25). The narrator admits throughout the
book that the peer resistance was simply due to Stargirls outward differences. Again, while this
peer behavior and non-verbal influence to adapt to peer standards is not positive, it is accepted
and excused in American society. Adults often make blanket statements to excuse these
adolescent tendencies, such as teenagers can be so cruel or high school is a war zone.
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Just as substance peer pressure, the most publicly criticized pressure, is discouraged for
the negative impact it has on physical, emotional, and psychological health, fitness or well-being
peer pressure is cheered for its positive impact on the same aspects of health. In Chris Crutchers
Y.A. novel Ironman, the protagonist, Bo, is pushed to win out over his rival peer, Wyrack, in a
triathlon race. Bo benefits as much psychologically as he does physically from his peer circles
encouragement and support. When Bo succeeds in his goal, there is a unity to the success that
enhances the overall experience and helps him grow as an adolescent. In a 2012 article, Social
Science & Medicine reports that there is strong correlation between adolescent friends body
weights. The article further suggests this is due to modeling of behavior during activities such as
meals and physical activity. In other words, adolescents may be positively influenced to observe
a healthier, more active lifestyle by surrounding themselves with peers who have healthy habits
(Cunningham, Vaquera, Maturo, & Venkat Narayan, 2012; Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, & Aherne,
2012). This kind of peer influence is publicly accepted for the positive health outcomes it yields.
Within the context of James Dashners The Maze Runner, readers witness the publicly
encouraged peer influence to adhere to societal law or legal pressure. This peer pressure takes a
surreal arena in this Y.A. novel about a dystopian society where adolescents are trapped within a
gargantuan maze and must build a society complete with leadership hierarchy and societal rules
in order to survive. Thomas, the main character, is particularly pressured to obey the rules of the
society when he arrives. The leaders preach conformity to law as the key to survival. "The
Slammer. It's our jail on the north side of the Homestead." (p. 88) one character explains to
Thomas during his welcome tour. The peer enforcement of rules is presented as strict, but
Dashners characters repeatedly credit these strict laws to the communitys three-year existence.
In this way, it is clear that societal rules and laws can be considered a more structured and
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purposed form of peer pressure for the greater good. In American society, this kind of peer
pressure is encouraged for societal order, from obeying speed limits to contracts decreeing the
ownership of property. In fact, Journal of Safety Research reveals that teenage speeding was
most closely associated with substance use, tolerance of deviance, and risky friends. Risky
friends are friends that have recorded instances of driving violations themselves. The journal
therefore argues that peer circles can be used as a predictor of speeding prevalence in American
teenagers (Simons-Morton et al., 2012).
Thus far, I have presented examples of peer influence in fictional texts. However, peer
pressure can be seen in the everyday and on the personal and international levels. Politics is a
frenzy of peer influence. The annual UN conference is a platform for the world nations leaders
to pressure one another to action on issues important to their nations people and their home
country. At the 2014 UN Conference, U.S. President Barack Obama directly pressured over 120
heads of state for involvement in climate control initiatives (Sheppard, 2014). This pressure is
backed by the noblest of intensions, the welfare of our planet. This form of peer influence is
well-supported by American society. On a more personal level, peer pressure can be seen in
such sensitive moral topics as euthanasia and abortion. Rather than discourage the peer pressure
that can grow out of peoples moral stance, society protects outspoken citizens under our
countries First Amendment, labeling this peer influence as freedom of speech. Here, we see the
most socially accepted and encouraged form of peer pressure.
On the opposite side of the same coin, 2014 Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai writes
of her extreme resistance to Middle Eastern peer pressure in her autobiography I am Malala: The
Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban. Yousafzai writes especially of
the pressure to adhere to female gender norms in her home country, to remain uneducated, to
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cover her face, and to not challenge males or even look at them directly. It does not matter; I
am also looking at them, she writes (p. 62). This kind of open pressure resistance of
international citizens against unjust regimes like the Taliban is highly encouraged by American
society. It is important to note that peer pressure is contextual to the society and culture one is
immersed in.
This essay has explored a full spectrum of peer influence in American society; moving
from the most publicly discouraged forms of peer influence to the most publicly encouraged
forms of peer influence, we explored substance abuse pressure, groupthink, pressure to conform
to social norms, pressure for well-being, societal laws, and finally, moral protests and
campaigns. Reflecting on this continuum, we can see that while the term peer pressure holds a
negative stigma in American culture and can be detrimental in certain contexts, peer
relationships and peer influence can also be a wonderful thing for many adolescents. High
School Illustrated corroborates these thoughts, claiming that peers have a profoundly positive
influence on each other and play an important roles in each others lives (Dealing with Peer
Pressure). Peer relationships may provide adolescents friendship, social skills, positive
examples, advice, and push one another into new experience to help them grow and develop.
Peer influence not only affects personal development. Research on peer-leader programs reveal
that positive peer relationships directly affect student satisfaction, learning and academic
performance, persistence, and retention (Shook & Keup, 2012). It is apparent that peer influence
has as many shades and tones as a color wheel. By exploring these distinctions with adolescents,
we may encourage them to foster more positive peer relationships and grow into well-rounded
adults.


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Works Cited


Baron, R. (2005). "So right it's wrong: Groupthink and the ubiquitous nature of polarized group
decision making". Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 37:
35. doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(05)37004-3

Chbosky, S. (1999). The perks of being a wallflower. New York: Pocket Books.

Crutcher, C. (1995). Ironman: A novel. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Cunningham, S. A., Vaquera, E., Maturo, C. C., & Venkat Narayan, K. M. (2012). Is there
evidence that friends influence body weight? A systematic review of empirical
research. Social Science & Medicine, 75(7), 1175-1183.

Dashner, J. (2009). The maze runner. New York: Delacorte Press.

Dealing with Peer Pressure. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2014, from
http://www.highschoolillustrated.com/under-pressure-403

Fitzgerald, A., Fitzgerald, N., & Aherne, C. (2012). Do peers matter? A review of peer and/or
friends' influence on physical activity among American adolescents. Journal Of
adolescence, 35(4), 941-958.

Frey, J. (2003). A million little pieces. New York: N.A. Talese/Doubleday.

Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska: A novel. New York: Dutton Children's Books.

Golding, W. (1962). Lord of the flies. New York: Coward-McCann.

Peer Pressure. Family first aid: help for troubled teens. (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2014, from
http://www.familyfirstaid.org/issues/peer-pressure/

Sheppard, K. (2014, September 23). Obama U.N. speech will include new executive order on
climate and international development. The huffington post. Retrieved October 4, 2014.

Shook, J. L., & Keup, J. R. (2012). The benefits of peer leader programs: An overview from the
literature. New directions for higher education, (157), 5-16.

Simons-Morton, B. G., & Farhat, T. (2010). Recent findings on peer group influences on
adolescent smoking. The journal of primary prevention, 31(4), 191-208.

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Simons-Morton, B. G., Ouimet, M. C., Chen, R., Klauer, S. G., Lee, S. E., Wang, J., & Dingus,
T. A. (2012). Peer influence predicts speeding prevalence among teenage drivers. Journal
of safety research, 43(5), 397-403.

Spinelli, J. (2004). Stargirl. Miami, FL: Alfaguara.

Stork, F. (2009). Marcelo in the real world. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books.

Yousafzai, M. (2013). I am Malala: the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the
Taliban. " Hachette Digital, Inc.".