The virtual lifestyle has spared none and crippled all! While it has made life simpler for most of us, there is also an increasing rate of side effects that they bring along with them. And one such harsh truth is that of going through virtual peer pressure. While peer pressure among the youth and specifically the teenage children, in the physical surroundings is always a cause of concern, parents have another reason to worry with the virtual peer pressure building around their kids.

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What exactly is it?

Is it a normal sight for you to see your teenaged child’s head buried deep inside his/her smartphone? Well, you may not even know what is keeping them so involved that they aren’t bothered about what is happening around them. Also, it is out of someone’s understanding that what could be the reason behind the child spending hours on scrolling, viewing, liking and commenting on posts and pictures. This is exactly what virtual peer pressure is.  Showing their presence actively so that their peers accept them. Social media plays the role of the key villain in this whole plot of influencing a teen’s decision making power.

Negative effects

These online activities activates a teen’s thinking and behaviour pattern in a negative manner. They want to ape their peers only to be accepted among them and not necessarily because they believe in that thought process. For instance, studies show that teenagers who viewed and liked photos and snapshots of their peers partying with alcohol were more probable to mimicking the behaviour by indulging in alcohol and smoking themselves. So, it can be rightly said that virtual peers are far more powerful and influential than a teen’s real-life friends.

Symptoms

  • Complete change in behaviour towards others  
  • Change in likes and dislikes  
  • Short tempered  
  • Arguing with parents or any other adult on an ongoing basis  
  • Doing harm to self

Protect your child

  • Be your child’s best friend. Build so much confidence in the child that he/she would share all their secrets and keep their parents in the loop.   
  • Get acquainted with social media in order to help them keep the lines of communication open.  It’s very critical than ever that parents must know who their kids are spending their time with.  
  • Keep a tab on your child’s social media presence by following them on the various sites and openly talking about any person’s social media profile that may not be accurate as they pose to be.  
  • Set a screen limit time so that your child isn’t addicted to the online world. Apart from Virtual Peer Pressure, it can also lead to other health problems.   
  • Encourage your child to participate actively in the real-world and be socially active in the real world than the virtual one.

The author is Trustee and Academic Director - C.P Goenka International School