Peer pressure is influence on your behavior from a group that you interact with socially or professionally. It can be good or bad depending on what action is taken, what consequences it brings and whether or not you want to do it.

Peer Pressure for Teens and Young Adults

Positive Peer Pressure

Being encouraged to join the Debate Team can improve your self-confidence and your listening and thinking skills
Going to college can be positive for your future
Following the rules can keep you out of trouble and focus on what is important
Showing up at school on time helps you learn discipline
Respecting others will help you go far and will lead to people treating you well.
Being honest helps people trust you
Exercising is good for stress and fitness
Avoiding drugs can keep you out of jail
Working hard leads to achievement
Listening to rap music
Volunteering at the Boys or Girls Club lets you share your knowledge and skills
Tutoring other students shares your knowledge

Negative Peer Pressure

Drinking alcohol while you are underage can lead to jail and is dangerous when you are young
Smoking is very addictive and can result in lung cancer
Experimenting with drugs can be deadly
Being encouraged to fight someone can lead to an assault charge
Stealing something on a dare can lead to imprisonment or a fine or both
Having sexual relations before you are ready or before you want to can lead to pregnancy and STDs
Bullying or teasing others
Putting your health at risk with too much bodybuilding or dieting
Skipping school
Wearing clothes you don't like because it is expected
Doing anything you don't want to do
Driving fast or drag racing

Peer Pressure for Adults

Adults also have peer pressure that usually comes from a group of people that share interests or professions.

Here are examples of peer pressure for adults:

Having a maid because others in your peer group have one
Going to certain clubs where members of your peer group go
Buying a BMW you can't afford because other in your peer group have luxury cars
Not drinking alcohol at a party
Waxing parts of your body
Going to Happy Hour with coworkers
Sending your kids to a certain school
Buying an SUV instead of a hybrid
Being a member of a certain political party
Contributing to certain charities
Working out at the gym
Only shop at certain stores
For women, being ultra-thin
Get a job with a well-known company
Wearing only designer clothes
Having an in-ground swimming pool in the back yard

Peer Pressure in Movies

Where the Heart Is - This is a movie about a teenager that gets pregnant and is abandoned by her boyfriend.
The Sandlot - A boy moves to a new neighborhood and soon joins a group of kids that play baseball and have other adventures together.
Grease - Sandy is pressured into changing to be more to be with the boy she loves.
Thirteen - In this movie a 13 year old girl tries crime, drugs and sex due to peer pressure.
High School Musical - A popular boy and a shy, intelligent girl audition for roles in the school musical. This concerns their peers and upsets the social order of the school.

These various examples of peer pressure show how behavior can be changed in many ways based on those around us.