How do peers influence you?
How do peers influence you?
Peer groups are defined as social groups that share common interests, age and social positions. Peer groups also influence the socialization of the group members.
Children are generally influenced by their peer groups during the adolescence period. Peer groups allow them to escape the supervision of adults and form new relationships. However, unlike family, the influence of peer groups on an individual is generally short term. It acts as a vent for people, a space to discuss interests which they generally can’t share or are restricted to share with their family members, such as fashion trends, popular music or even drugs. The influence of peer groups on an individual is not only social but psychological as well. Peer groups play a significant role in integrating social cohesion and socialization of different ideologies, customs, social norms and gender roles. Through gender-role socialization, people belonging to a particular group often learn different social and cultural expectations, sex differences, etc. They are taught to act according to the accepted gender roles, in other words, to be masculine for men and feminine for women. Members of a social group can act as referents for teaching these roles and responsibilities of an individual to become a proficient member of society. However, this influence is not always positive. Peer groups can also negatively influence an individual. For example, a teenage boy might indulge in deviant activities such as smoking or substance abuse if he becomes a part of a group that does the same.
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