Issue 9

Decisions, Gambling and Peer Pressure

By: Amanda H., age 15, Junior Editor, Wanna Bet?™ Magazine

Peer pressure is when friends of your age, called peers, influence your opinions on something (good or bad).  Peer pressure can allow you to make bad decisions that can hurt you or others.

Your decisions can be influenced by a friend or group of friends by simply asking you to do something that they take part in.  Copying the actions of a friend or group of friends can also influence your precious decisions. 

Peer pressure can be totally unhealthy and lead you into not being able to make good choices for yourself.  Gambling is a very unhealthy choice that is often caused by peer pressure.  Giving in to gambling could bring on bad habits.  Many people who start gambling can go into compulsive gambling.

When your friends take out a pack of cards and deal out a game of poker, you may not even think about playing a game of cards with your friends until your money is involved.  Maybe you have already set yourself up to not getting involved in the game, but you feel left out or your friends talk you into playing.  Then even though you thought you would not play, you end up playing anyway, and can earn yourself consequences.

The peer pressures of gambling get heavier when you get older.  Money becomes more important to have so your friends gamble a lot more.  Then gambling becomes legal for you and many of your friends have been waiting to get some of the “not so positive” action, dragging you along too.

Just keep in mind that you have a right to say NO when someone is asking you to do something that you don’t want to do.  Real friends should not care what you think.  If they cannot respect your decisions they are not really your friends.

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