Peer pressure can influence teens to make bad decisions regarding alcohol, drugs, and sex. For alcohol, teens may drink to fit in and avoid being seen as "lame" by their friends. They fear social consequences of not drinking. Drugs are often tried due to influence from friends and media portrayals, but lead down a path of addiction and health problems. Sex is sometimes viewed as a way to appear grown up or attractive, but was intended for committed, married couples hoping to have children. Peers who say it makes one "cool" to have frequent or casual sex can encourage risky behavior that results in rape or pregnancy with lifelong consequences. Teens need to think of sex privately and seriously, not as casual entertainment.

1. HOW PEER PRESSURE
INFLUENCES BAD
DECISION MAKING IN TEENS
Rylee Robinson

2. ALCOHOL
At any teenager’s party, alcohol is a
staple, and the highlights of the night
always seem to revolve around it. Alcohol
makes you do crazy things that you
wouldn’t normally do, and frequently causes
irresponsible decision making. Sadly, it’s
very difficult for teens to say no to
drinking, because people think you’re lame
for not trying anything, or you just sit
around doing nothing at a party, because
without the alcohol in you it’s not as fun.
Peer pressure can also really get to a
person because they fear what will happen
to them socially if all their friends think
they're lame because they don’t drink, and
they find the consequence of drinking
better than having no friends.

3. DRUGS
Very often, people start taking drugs
because they see people doing it on
tv, in their friend groups, and
sometimes even in their homes. The
decision to try it once is just the
start of the downwards spiral towards
addiction, and your peers only help to
influence you to go further. Drugs
give you a high, they make you feel
great, like everything around you is
fun and hilarious, but really, no
matter how bad the rest of the world
may seem, or how great drugs make
you feel, it is only a temporary fix.
There are also many health problems
related to drugs, and so no matter
how “cool” your friends make it seem,
drugs are not cool at all.

4. SEX
Sex is often viewed as a way to show that you
are grown up, or good looking enough to “get
laid." Teens have begun to think of it as a part
of life, something new, fun, and a bit frightening
to try out. But sex was never meant to be like
that. It’s something that was intended for a
husband and wife to do, and the real purpose
of it is to have kids. Yes it is also enjoyable
for both people, but it was never meant for two
teens to try before they’re in a committed
relationship, let alone two people who just met at
a party! People are influenced by peers who tell
them that having sex makes you cool, and doing
it often with lots of different people means you’re
even cooler. This has begun to get out of hand,
and when people get too drunk, or are high,
they make decisions about sex which can count
as rape or result in getting a girl pregnant.
These consequences can effect people for the
rest of their life, which is why teens need to
look at sex in a new way, something private,
not as something to keep them entertained.