Peer and Societal Pressures of a Student

A student experiences several peer and societal pressures constantly. Be it peer pressure to perform better academically, or societal pressure to achieve it all in desired fields without breaking - there is no escape.

We often associate societal pressure to conform to the norms, to stick to already explored career and life paths and to achieve everything considered important.

Peer pressure is associated with needing to perform well academically while achieving all extracurricular goals at the same time.

Let's look at this across some countries.

Taiwan

At the end of November, a series of suicidal cases occurred at universities in Taiwan: a 26-year-old male student at National Taiwan University hanged himself in his dorm, and two students jumped from rooftops. The tragedy exposed the crucial fraud in domestic educational culture- the system that pushes students to comparison, pressure, and depression as opposed to helping students face the unexpected ups and downs of life.

Reports show the reason behind students' mental problems ending their life include a culture of social-economical comparison, lack of support in relationships, and even political issues. The system of obsessions with prestigious colleges and majors to high-paid jobs is deeply rooted in the Taiwanese family household. Most high-ranked high-school principals are graduates of elite universities, and have inherited blind worship of the “scholar class”. The idea has unfortunately passed on to parents and students worsen the weight of expectations from families to students and distort educational purposes. Due to the focus on “prestigiousness” in academics, many aspects and supports are eventually neglected in the system such as support for mental health, relationship advice, and most importantly, character education. For example, a principal of a high school in Chiayi wrote a letter

to senior-high-school students stressing the importance of national rankings and addressing ideas: “Vocational high school students can have fun for three years. You are different from them. Do not hang out with them — your IQ levels are not the same.” As the society and schools place burdens on students, the future leaders of the society, a vicious cycle of negative values will only be passed on to our future generations.

Future challenges require skills to fight the inevitable and not put forward conventions and collapse students. Schools as a teaching institutions should be changed to equip students with the skills needed to reflect on the meaning of life and to cope with life’s misfortunes. While expectations, careers and socioeconomics comparison, and pressures of all will continue, education should serve the role of preparation, not accomplice.

Sweden

Peer pressure for students can cause them to take drastic actions like blatantly disrespecting school authority, and disregarding parents and can also lead students to alcohol and drugs.

This happens in almost every school.

Some students can pressurize others into making bad decisions.

Students go through the mindset of thinking that they aren’t good enough and that they have to act or talk a certain way to fit the rest of the students. All through the act of

“bullying” which leads to peer pressure has decreased over the years, but it still occurs.

Peer pressure can lead students in the wrong direction. Students can also be academically pressured by parents and teachers without them realizing it.

In schools in Sweden, peer pressure has reduced a lot since a lot of students learn what it is like to be under peer and societal pressures. They are more understanding and mature than other students. They are tolerant and mature.

Students who are under peer pressure should reach out to people they trust like close friends and learn to come over this pressure.

USA

Students face a lot of peer pressure as they start to grow older. A lot goes on in a student’s life, especially when balancing school, social life, and family. High school is a completely different stage for almost every student. As students gain more freedom, they come across a lot of decisions they need to make on their own. Many kids like to explore and get their friends involved with bad things such as drugs, alcohol, or “small” crimes like stealing. Usually, the victims become pressured into doing bad things because it’s “cool” or they were dared to. Other times they are bullied into doing something. A lot of the time to fit in, students are pressured to do unsafe acts to be a part of a certain group. They would either be bullied for not being one of them or they could do something horrible and join them. Other times, young teens take part in dangerous activities that may not seem risky. However, almost every time have there been consequences for these students. In America, this pressure is very high amongst young teens and a lot of them leads to negative outcomes. It all comes down to whether or not someone will say “no.”

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Authors

• Nicole (Wei-Tung), Ling: Taiwan

• Shivika Varshney: USA

• Adithi Natarajan: Sweden