There have been ongoing debates regarding whether children’ behaviors and situations often influenced by individuals with their same age should be considered as a problem or not. I personally believe that its shortcomings far outweigh the benefits, and the reasons will be elaborated in this essay.
To begin with, it is sensible for some advocates to claim that peer pressure plays a crucial role in personal development for kids. The is possibly because pressure from their friends could bring the sense of competitiveness, and encourage young people to stay active for their goal, especially for academic achievement. For example, once kids discover that their classmates attain high scores or grades, they tend to study harder in order to beat their peers and show off which not only results in a better academic result, but also boosts their self-esteem upon receipt of compliments from their parents and teacher. However, this argument is absolutely invalid, given that many child psychologists suggest that young citizens should be cultivated the sense of societal harmony instead of competition, and over- pressure could severely cause depression in children.
On the other hand, there are several drawbacks proving why influence from peers should be regarded as a deterrent of kid development. Firstly, the early exposure in high pressure can lead to an acute mental health in young people. Despite positive encouragement, kids might be disappointed once they have studied hard but cannot overcome their peers. If this situation happens repeatedly, their confidence will decrease and eventually lead to long-term depression. Secondly, another pessimistic outcome is that individuals who were trapped in the perspective of frenemy, viewing their friends as competitors since childhood, tend to lack proper social skill which is essential for their latter life. For example, the research in Korea in 2019 revealed the 45% of its unemployed population struggled hardship to get along with colleagues by perceiving everyone in their offices as rivals rather than collaborators. This behavour is rooted from intensive competitive environment in their educational life; therefore, they are unable to handle collective assignments and eventually voluntarily resign from their job.
In conclusion, although peer pressure is a beneficial instrument to encourage children to enhance themselves to their social standard, this essay demonstrates that its shortcomings regarding lack of social skill and mental problem outweigh the potential positive outcome.