Peer Pressure vs. Coercion

The people that you interact with influence you; this is especially true of your friends. In most cases, these interactions are positive and supportive. Your friends encourage you and support you positively in your daily life. Unfortunately, there may also be times when your friends negatively encourage you.

When your friends encourage you to make bad choices, like stealing a piece of candy or making fun of another student, it’s called peer pressure. It can be hard to resist peer pressure. Your friends may say that “everyone is doing it” and “it’ll make you cool.” We all want to feel accepted by our friends. Sometimes that desire and the pressure from our friends can lead us to make bad decisions.