There is a school of thought that young people are often influenced by their peers, and this phenomenon is commonly known as peer pressure. Admittedly, spending time with their peers may limit their sense of freedom and independence. However, I strongly believe that the knowledge, values and social skills that young people acquire from one another play a pivotal role in broadening their horizons.
It is undeniable that people having a greater influence each other is a natural tendency. There is an abundance of situations that individuals are inclined to be influenced by another. Young people who receive a compulsory education are required or encouraged by their teachers to work in a team during the lesson. In the process of doing exercise within a team, students are often receptive to their team groups, follow their opinions and learn new skills. Consequently, those who study or work under the group pressure generally retain some important values they acquired from each other throughout their lives. Moreover, youths are instilled values and morals through spending their time with peers, which means that people tend to adapt the morals of those around them. For example, active students can easily influence passive students by showing their good behavior and knowledge, and this phenomenon may lead to passive students becoming active as smart people. Hence, it is ubiquitous that people influence one another in every condition.
On the other hand, despite having numerous advantages working in a team, it does not say that there are no disadvantages. The first and foremost is that by working or studying under the peer group pressure, the peer pressure imposes a psychological burden on young people. This is because young people have not an opportunity to express their feeling and opinion openly in a group, and people feel themselves isolated being freedom. Additionally, the most negative consequence is that when people do some exercises in a group, they are prone to agree one’s idea and might not think about it by themselves alone. As a result, relying on other people’s ideas can negative affect on students’ independence. Therefore, balancing approach plays an important role in shaping young people.
In conclusion, the people’s influence on each other is an inevitably process. Although peers might enable each other to acquire more valuable life skills, there should be a balanced approach to prevent them from becoming independence.