The Peer Group In Adolescence
Naturally, you want to have people by your side who share the good things in life. Therefore, the peer group in adolescence can greatly increase your joy of living if you are part of it. That’s right, the joy of doing something is doubly enjoyed if you are surrounded by those who have the same goals as you.
What is the peer group in adolescence?
The adolescent peer group is a group of friends who are generally similar in many ways. Often these are contemporaries with the same interests, backgrounds, economic status, and culture. All this, in most cases, without the constant vigilance of adults. However, on many occasions peer groups cross social, cultural, racial or religious barriers or divisions.
9 advantages of belonging to the peer group in adolescence
Teens who feel accepted and important in their group of friends. In addition, they usually develop skills such as:
- Better relationships with your relatives.
- Higher school performance.
- More satisfaction with the use of free time.
- Greater self-confidence.
- They consolidate their principles and values.
- They forge their identity.
- They know how to give emotional support.
- They tend to be more tolerant.
- They learn to listen by being confident.
On the other hand, when things are not going well and you feel sad or depressed, having good friends can be a great relief.
Influence of peer groups on adolescents
Generally, in peer groups young people usually impose their own norms, criteria and rules. These can be very different from those of adults. However, this is not always indicative of rebellion. Rather, it can allow them to explore fairness, fairness, and find ways to resolve disagreements with their peers themselves.
Likewise, young people learn to be observers of the tastes, abilities and perspectives of their peers in order to belong to a certain group. This ability forms the basis on which future relationships will be built.
The importance of peer groups
Peer groups increase in importance during adolescence, managing to have much more authority and power in you than your own parents. This is because the trust you place in an equal, exceeds that you have in a relative, even if it is very close.
It is that having good friends allows you to receive warning against dangers. In addition, it frees you from the abuse of other colleagues and encourages you when you go through difficult experiences.
What Parents Should Know
For years, adolescents’ relationship with their parents has been thought to be very different from that with their peers. It is true that young people like to be with those of their age and discover their autonomy. But, this does not necessarily mean that these relationships are totally opposite to those they have with their parents.
In fact, it is stated that in most cases a good relationship with parents also represents a good relationship with their peers, therefore, some adolescents who do not get along with their parents repeat the same pattern with their peers.
Parents exert great influence on the social development of their children. Many of the decisions regarding your own friendships, where you live, and where to study will affect your children. In addition, they can give them recommendations and show them by example how to relate to their peers, resist peer pressure, or overcome shyness.
In conclusion, having a good friend in childhood means that you have someone to play with. However, during adolescence, you experience great challenges. One of them is that you need to gradually start to detach yourself from family ties. You can cope with such changes more effectively if you have good friends who are always supportive of you.
On the other hand, young people spend more than twice as much time interacting with their peers as they do with their parents. So parents, take advantage of any time you spend with your children to positively influence them.
