Peer pressure in middle school can be tough, and lots of it happens nowadays. Here are a few reasons peer pressure happens and how to deal with it.

There are many reasons why teens force other teens into peer pressure. They might think it’s cool or they may even have bad intentions for it. They have some type of influence on you and really want you to do or try something. Peer pressure doesn’t always have to be negative but it’s seen as something negative a lot of the time.

Shannon Quinn, an eighth grade girl, said that she thinks some reasons that kids fall into peer pressure is that they just want to fit in, and the other person who puts the pressure on their friend doesn’t want to be the only one to do it.

There are also many consequences to falling into peer pressure, depending on what it is and where it is. If it is something bad at school, you could be suspended, ISS, and there could be many more related to that. If it was something bad enough to break the law, you could possibly get in trouble with the police. Lots of students also end up regretting what they did after they fall into peer pressure.

A Corbett parent tells us her story about peer pressure and the consequences, “I was in high school hanging out with friends talking about a birthday party. Someone suggested TPing a girl’s house. I knew it was wrong but I went along with it. The day of the party, we did TP her house and I didn’t feel right about it but I followed my friends. That night the police caught us.”

There are lots of ways to cope with peer pressure. You have to be assertive and not let anyone push you around. Make sure you pick your friends carefully and try to hang out with people who resist peer pressure. If you are ever in a situation with peer pressure, try your best to get out of it and maybe even tell someone if it gets bad enough.

Shannon Quinn, an eighth grade girl, says, “My advice for people who are facing peer pressure is to just be you and if your friends are pressuring you to do something you don’t want to do, then say no.”