Why Are Young People Easier To Influence?
Why are young people more vulnerable and easier to influence? Youth is the stage of development in which we begin to shape our identity that defines us and separates us at the same time.
In general, though, teens do not want to be different. The fear of being different creates emotional insecurity, making teens more vulnerable to social impact.
Young people long to fit into their social environment. They want to feel like they are part of a community or a group of peers (which has a pretty big relevance during this stage). Until this point, children’s role models or mentors are their parents.
When adolescence begins, children’s peers become a point of reference with their parents.
When we say teenagers are easier to influence, then it is not all negative. For example, young people may choose a particular university degree because of a good professor they have had in this subject. They can also join a sports team or other alto activities or leisure activities thanks to their friends.
So, what is social influence, and why are young people easier to influence?
Psychologists PG Zimbardo and Michael Leippe understand social influence as a process. According to Zimbardo and Leippe, social influence is a process through which a person’s behavior changes according to the behavior, feelings or thoughts of others around a certain stimulus. Therefore, we can say that social influence involves thoughts and behaviors.
The science behind social psychology divides social influence into two types:
- Informative. According to the youth, different contexts can influence this type of social influence. For example, when teenagers observe others to acquire information from their surroundings, or when they feel some form of insecurity in a particular situation.
- Normative. The youth has long been considered a rebellious period. The survival instinct during this stage is even stronger. Young people instinctively adapt to their environment, and in order to fit into society, they have to accept its norms.
Social conformity according to Asch
Solomon Asch was the first to study social conformity. In his experiment of comparing lines, Asch demonstrated the influence of social groups on individuals.
In his study, people had to answer questions, both while they were alone as well as in a group context (the other group members were actors). The experiment showed that the subjects changed their answers depending on whether they were alone or with others.
These results demonstrated how the group’s opinion affected the individuals. The group pushed the individual to a point where his or her opinion agreed with that of the group, even though this opinion was incorrect.
Social conformity is a form of normative influence. Thanks to this theory, we can understand why teenagers behave differently when they are at home, at school or with their friends.
Teenagers change their opinions depending on the pressure they feel from others, despite having their own opinion. Therefore, they behave differently with peers compared to when they are alone.
The motives leading to social conformity are diverse. For example, young people may look for comparisons with their friends and accept their criteria. They also do this to avoid social ridicule for fear of ending up being alone.
Help your children deal with social pressures
When teens feel pressured by their social groups, they may end up doing something they inwardly do not want to do. Young people change their values because they want their friends to accept and value them. They adapt to feel like they are part of a group.
Based on all of this , it is important for parents to know how to help their children cope with social pressure:
- Teach them to say “no”. If your children can not find the right way to say no when they do not want to do anything, it can be very helpful to teach them different techniques. For example, if someone offers them a cigarette, they may say something like “I do not like the way it tastes.” or “I do not like the smell.”
- Expand their social circle. Help your children cultivate friendships in different social circles. By having different groups of friends, they will have more options and sources of support if things go awry with one of the groups.
- Encourage them to be themselves. Many times, being yourself can help teens avoid succumbing to social pressure. When children are not happy with who they are or how they think, then you need to make them see that the best way to be happy is by being yourself.
- Build their self-esteem. Increasing children’s self-esteem will make them better equipped to withstand pressure from social groups and the media.
Young people do not just change their behavior to adapt to their environment. Along with forms of social influences namely also their identity.
It is normal for teenagers to be more vulnerable to their surroundings. This is more true today than ever before, as social media has a huge impact on young people.
Young people are more vulnerable to social pressure and easier to influence because they are trying to figure out who they are while trying to fit into the world. Because of all of this , it is essential for teens to strike a balance between being themselves and adapting to their environment.
