Peer-Pressure

[NiceGurl_14]

So, I recently found out that my school, which normally gives a yearly blood drive where the red cross comes to our school and takes blood of anyone over 18 or 16 with parent's permission, is now not doing this anymore.

The cause?

My fellow schoolmates were pressuring their friends that didn't necessarily want to donate blood into making them feel uncomfortable to a point where someone said something to a teacher.

So, I think that we should realize that peer-pressure isn't all bad, your friends will automatically influence you without anyone really noticing. You get to choose your friends, if you choose good friends they will have a good influence, the same goes for bad friends. If your friends push you to something that is good for somebody else and doesn't really hurt you, why strive against it?

What are your thoughts on this?

I can see what you mean by it's for a good cause and it's not really hurting them however, I can also understand that there is a pressure to do something like that and for someone like me who absolutely hates needles (the hospital had to fight me today to get some blood for testing) there's a fear thing too.

 

[Deleted]

Peer pressure is bad mmkay.

Unless I'm pressuring you to buy me something, then its a good idea to listen.

 

[Julianking93]

Only the weak-willed are bothered by peer pressure. I just see it as another challenge to overcome.

More or less the same, though I see people who try to get me to do something like that as assholes who need to leave me alone.

 

[thylasos]

Peer pressure's never made me do anything I wasn't partially inclined towards anyway, but it can certainly be a factor in poor decision making; however, the way to combat this isn't (purely) better peers, but a more developed sense of self and identity, as well as assertiveness training (and, now that I think of it, possibly submissiveness (or... humility, perhaps, would be a better word) training, quite possibly allocating one or other of these on a Jungian Archetype basis).

What was my point? Oh yes, a developed sense of self. There aren't intrinsically good or bad choices, by an large, in a secular society, only choices which are good or bad for the individual, based upon their sense of self.

 

[SupabadMan]

Fuck peer pressure, it makes you aware of which people are independent or not, then they get laughed at.

Besides, giving blood is simple and easy, don't know why you'd complain against it so much...

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

To Hell with peer pressure, and to hell with blood drives!! Wait...

Back on topic, I try to beat peer pressure. It's easier at sometimes and harder at others.

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

I'm not saying I wouldn't give blood, but I think if I was asked to give blood when I was 16 I would say no because I would rather wait till I am older. Unless my blood type was rare then I will feel no urgency to give blood.

I volunteer for Canadian Blood services, so here is some statistics for you (from Canada...Don't know where you live) :
1 in 2 Canadians are eligible to donate blood, and 1 in 3 will need a blood transfusion at some point. Despite this, only 1 in 60 Canadians donate blood.

In short, they want all they can get.