The Effects of Peer Pressure This happens every day in the United States, even in my community; another teenager succumbs to the temptations that all young people face in high school. Drug and alcohol use has become an epidemic, primarily due to peer pressure. More than fifty percent of adolescents aged twelve to twenty have drunk at least once in their life. Statistics indicate that teenagers who drink or use drugs are more likely to behave violently. They are more likely to attempt suicide and/or develop problems such as depression and addiction later in life. Peer pressure is not recognized as one of the main factors contributing to this phenomenon. Peer pressure has many negative effects. Teenagers tend to make bad decisions when they are around their friends. When we're with friends, we're forced to do something we wouldn't normally do. Peer pressure is a powerful effect that changes our decision-making. Bad habits can form from this dire atmosphere we surround ourselves with. You may not be a weekend party person, but if a friend invites everyone, you don't want to be the only one who doesn't show up. Peer pressure can change your attitude in a split second, you can go from a stay-at-home loner to a party animal. Because of their peers, many teenagers drink against their will. Peer pressure is responsible for creating alcoholics or drug addicts. Peer pressure is inevitable since there are always “cool kids” walking around school who we also look up to. The parameters of good and evil have been replaced by “what is within” and “what is without.” Most teenagers are vulnerable to anything that crosses their path. Some people don't understand that they are slowly wasting their lives by giving in to peer pressure....... middle of paper...... just because the "popular kids" have it. It is very important to realize that life is not just about fitting in with others around me, it is about recognizing who I am and knowing that my decisions will affect me later in life, that it's about my clothes, my friends or my actions. . It's very important to make friends and socialize with everyone, but there are ways to make new connections and mingle with people without being pressured by others. I will never let my friends shape my identity; I will be my own individual and, being a friend of theirs, I will appreciate the differences between their tastes and mine. If my friends ask me to change who I am in order to “fit in” with them, I am better off without that “friend.” The key to not succumbing to peer pressure is to be confident and comfortable with yourself, without giving in to societal influences..