The dark side of bullying and peer pressure

We all have been bullied in our lives for some reason or another. Peer pressure has made us do the things we may not want to do in the first place. Despite the fact, many organizations and movements work tirelessly to nip these social evils in the bud; yet one may still face them daily. In the worst-case scenario, the victim of a bully can even feel suicidal.

Let us analyze how bullying and peer pressure impacts one psychology. The following short story describes how bullying impacts one’s psychological behavior. 

There was a naughty baby elephant, who goes by the nickname Den. One fine day the owner got sick of Den’s mischiefs. As a punishment, he tied Den by a robust wooden log. The poor baby elephant was powerless to move this wooden log and free himself. Years went by, Den became a powerhouse of an animal, but his fear of wooden log remained in his psyche even if he was powerful enough to uproot a full-grown tree. 

The story exemplifies how bullying impact one’s psychology as an aftereffect. Peer pressure, however, works differently and has some specific symptoms.

Fomo

Humans love to socialize, and we cannot live without impressing others. That’s how fear of missing out comes into play. Sometimes, this fear makes us behave in a self-defeating way. Many youngsters develop an addiction to intoxications and bad habits due to peer pressure. 

Low self-esteem and insecurities

Society defines certain aspects of life as success and some as a failure. For example, living the lavish life, branded clothes, high paying jobs, cars, and so on are considered the primary goals of life. In this case, if someone doesn’t have any of the mentioned things in life, this can create a sense of low self-esteem. One may feel jinxed or crave those things that are not readily available to everyone.

One may argue that bullying and peer pressure can help one grow in life. The common denominator is that both of them have their ugly side. We may have heard stories of the successful people who tackled bullying or didn’t give in to peer pressure. The problem is, everyone can’t cope with them and come out as victorious. It would be best to become more considerate in our interaction with people around us.