One of the more wonderfully unique things about us is the childhood phase in our growth. Unlike all other animals, human offspring is completely ‘educable’ in every way as a child – mother-tongue and other language(s), choices of food, religion, choices of cloth, interests, etc. Childhood is a very impressionable age and traditionally parents were the biggest influence on children.
Unfortunately, in these times, in many homes the biggest influence on our children is peers, not the parents. To the extent that peer influences have always been unpredictable, children’s behaviour will have less predictability and display more elements of ‘surprises’. Of course, this is no fault of the children themselves; we have all grown up under the influence of peers, for good as well as bad. By itself, peer influence on children is nothing new at all.
However, the quality of peer relations has undergone a metamorphic change in just over a decade. While we take no position on the nature of the change in peer relationship, here is a list of some of the changes:
- The diversity in the value system of children is far higher compared to our childhood; the value system was far more homogenous among children just a couple of decades back. Now, the value system of the peers of your child is more likely to be very divergent from the values of your family (the default values of your child) and this divergence gives a very unique force and flavour to peer pressure on children.
- The number of points of contact among children has significantly multiplied due to the multiple platforms in the digital word. In our childhood, classrooms and neighbourhood playgrounds were the only points of contact. Today, peers are hard to avoid, irrespective of time and place.
- The nature of the points of contact has acquired a newer dimension – facelessness. As a result, peer pressure is showing significantly sharper edges and could be detrimental and unaccountable.
- The nature of contact has also changed in terms of geographical and cultural dimensions and expectedly, your child is exposed to totally alien values and perspectives, beyond all manageable levels.
- The virtualisation of peers also implies that involved adults and parents may not ever be able to fathom the breadth and depth of peer pressure. As a result, children are beyond the parental (or other interested adults) radar.
- And last but not the least is the change that peer pressure could be far fiercer as any number of peers could be involved in a pressure situation.
Be prepared for a far rougher ride in the behaviour of your children due to a very different peer world encountered by them.
