The need to fit in is common among children as early as one begins to make friends. Among teens, however, this need to fit in becomes a dominant factor in their everyday lives.

“Teens fail to have self-worth and respect for themselves sometimes, so they do what they believe is the right decision according to their peers,” said senior Taira Gay.

Senior Camille Sarmiento agreed. “Sometimes, people feel left out or different from everyone else. It causes them to be self-conscious about their appearance and reputation. No one likes feeling unloved or wants others to think bad about them.”

Peer pressure is all too common because of the time spent in groups. Because of this, teen vulnerability to peer pressure is great.

“Teens sometimes do these things because they are curious. They want to see why everyone is into something, so they try it out,” said senior Paige Thomas. “Teens fall for peer pressure for many reasons, but the main reason is because teens always feel the need to fit in with their peers.”

Sarmiento said, “Every decision is important, even the seemingly insignificant ones. One can never predict the outcome of our decisions, and often one does not think about choices. Because we don’t always reevaluate our decisions or give them enough thought before acting, the outcomes are oftentimes not in our favor.”

Some dangers of peer pressure are evident through media revelations.

“Because of today’s media and the superficial values that are portrayed, many teens believe they must fit certain traits or do certain things to be accepted by others and considered ‘cool,’” said Sarmiento.

According to the Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base, 30 percent of teens in middle school and high school have been offered drugs, and 32.2 percent of teens have had their first drink of alcohol before the age of 13. Becoming involved with stealing, drugs, sex and alcohol continue to have negative repercussions. However, one can counteract the negative influences.

“I was once pressured to steal clothes for my friend while she was ‘shopping.’ I was really close to doing so, but I knew it was wrong,” Sarmiento said. “I was able to convince her not to do it.”

“Teens make poor choices because they feel the need to be cool. Sometimes they long to be viewed in a ‘positive’ light and the only way to do that is to give in to the pressure,” Gay said. “If one is faced with a dilemma involving peer pressure, the best thing to do is listen to your conscience and think about the consequences.”

Choosing the right friends can help one not do the wrong things.

“To avoid following the crowd, one can gain a better sense of self-confidence and self-worth. With these two aspects, teens will become stronger individuals who can say no to peer pressure,” said Thomas. “Being a teenager is difficult, but one should surround herself with positive influences because it will make life a lot easier.”

“In order to avoid following the crowd, one should have peers who have a positive influence on them who won’t pressure them into doing something morally wrong,” said Gay.  “Everything we do affects our future and the kind of person we are is reflected in the choices we make.”

A clean conscience and confidence in herself can also be the way to prevent making the wrong choices.

“Having confidence in yourself is key to being independent rather than going along with the crowd,” said Gay.

“Teens need to have the strength to say no to something that they know is wrong,” said Thomas.

“I always think about what my parents would think about my decisions. It would be hard going through my day knowing I disappointed someone who cares about me by making a poor choice. If I were to give in to peer pressure, I would be wasting all the time my parents spent raising me to be a good kid,” Gay said.