On the one hand, there are plenty of positive aspects resulting from peer influence. Two of those impacts are encouraging and motivation. In addition to that, youth uses more social media where they can to promote their ideas to the masses, inspire each other and share their goals, which can help them find like-minded people. For example, I always dreamt of studying abroad. I was searching for any information online till I found a blogger who was studying in the same city and country as I am doing right now. By watching his content about his life, I caught an inspiration and learned a lot of helpful information.
On the other hand, negative aspects of peer pressure outweigh advantages and lead to the harmful consequences. Youth, dreaming of being a grown-up, starts trying to find hobbies that would make them older. As they are easy-influenced, more frequently they do not have personal opinion, ability to refuse because they want to look cool in their friends’ eyes. This can lead to the consumption of alcohol, smoking or doing drugs. Moreover, being an adolescent means “having an unstable self-estime”. In that age, youngsters are more mentally weak, so they are trying to reach a non-existent ideal that they saw on TV or in different magazines by changing their bodies in unhealthy ways. It can be a cause of anorexia, bulimia or depression.
In conclusion, while peer influence can have some positive effects: such as motivation and finding like-minded people, – its negative impact on teenagers is often more serious. Due to their emotional vulnerability and desire to fit in, many young people fall into harmful habits and develop low self-esteem.