We've all heard it before:
If you start hanging out with the wrong crowd, you're going to be more likely to drink, try drugs, get arrested, etc. That's why Mom and Dad are always careful about the people you're friends with.


But do you start doing those bad things because of your friends, or do you make those friends because you're interested in doing those bad things?


Everyone tends to make friends with people that they share common interests with. If you and the person next to you don't share any of the same hobbies or activities, then you aren't going to enjoy spending time together. That's just the way of the world. If you are very interested in school work and studying on week nights, chances are you won't be hanging out with people who party every minute that their out of class.

But - How is it that teens fall in with the "wrong crowd" anyway? They must have something in common with the others. Is it likely that they knew about the deviant behavior beforehand and were interested in it? Maybe that's why everyone gets along so well from the start. Then the question becomes - would the teen have gotten involved with drinking/drugs even if they hadn't met those specific friends? If the tendency was there right from the beginning, maybe they would have begun that experimentation no matter who they met.


So the question is:
Do teens get pulled into illegal activities because their friends influence them, or is it more likely that teens with these same tendencies become friends?

I believe in both. It really depends on the individual at question.

First off, I don't believe people associate with one another immediately. Many kids get into the "wrong crowd," because they want to fit in with them. They may have never vandalized before. But if that's what it'll take to get along with their peers, they'll give it a try. And eventually they acquire a taste in the same activities if they get the reinforcement they desired in the first place from their peers.

Others may not be so hesitant to act deviantly. They find the people who do stuff that interest them and fit like a glove.

I believe that both are a factor, and it really depends on the personality of the person.

For instance, if a person is a 'leader', then I believe that they will do what they feel they should be doing, or want to do. People with follower personalities will then emulate that person's actions. So I guess you could say leaders do things because they have a tendency to do them, and followers flock to leaders and end up taking part in those actions, even if they don't believe in them to begin with. They might just have another, completely harmless interest in common with the leader, and that leads to illegal activities.

Maybe? :?

Weak-minded individuals who are not confident in who they are will get caught up in anything; for others, it is about selection. They may find themselves amidst the wrong crowd, but someone who knows who they are and what they stand for will leave a group that does things they are against or are not interested in.

Likewise, like the saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together." As you said, all people make friends based on mutual interests. People who like to party will choose friends who like to party as well, just as people who like anime are likely to have friends who share that interest.

Teens tend to be quite volatile. These are the years when we do a lot of figuring out of ourselves and our world. Teens will shift interests as they get older, and their friends will not always grow to like the same things. A teen could get drawn into doing things he/she does not want to because his/her friends who were not interested in those things before have developed a regard for them, and no one wants to be left behind. However, an involvement with drinking and drugs through friends cannot be fully blamed on the friends. A strong person would be able to say no and eventually walk away if those friends did not respect their views. If someone eagerly and willingly gets involved in this lifestyle, they would have likely sought it out anyways. Someone who hesitantly joins in, on the other hand, is likely to do the wrong things in their life anyways regardless of who their friends are because they do not have the self-esteem and confidence to say no to people.

Both, depending on the friendship group. To start with, you're making the presumption that when the frindship is formed, at least one of the parties is already into these things. I have a lot of friends from childhood and early highschool who I met on a common ground who later got into drink and drugs. It's never been an issue for me as I can be a rather driven person so when offered, even at a young age, I felt comfortable saying no, but not everyone is. For example, I did worry about my sister because she has a tendency to just go along with what the people around her want, though it turns out my fears are invalid.

Then, again, you make the presumption that the drugs/drink/partying is the only hobby they'll have. Let me give you an example, anime. I'm into anime, I think a trip to the pub is the best thing in the world and drink but nothing more. We have friends in our group, however, who go out to various types of clubs, drink in dangerous levels, smoke, do drugs. We all share the anime, but we all exist outside of it and have our seperate personalities and likes and dislikes, and within friendship groups people tend to drift between circles, so there's no reason someone couldn't fall in with a group, find out they're all about drugs, let a slight curiosity lead them to giving it a try, then end up in trouble.

A bit of both to be honest.
Some teens might see groups of people their age as "cool", even though they're doing drugs, beating people up etc. So, their desire to be cool and liked by everyone in the school might influence them to do the cool things the cool kids do, hence getting into the cool gang.
And of course, there's peer pressure. "You're a chicken if you don't do it". I think that teens also fear being rejected by their current friends if they don't do something that all their other friends are doing. It's not very nice to be singled out just because you say no. So they just go along with it.

But we can't forget that teens might be influenced by other people than their friends to get involved with illegal activities. If parents do drugs, there's a very high chance that the child might see the parent doing drugs and copy their behavior, or be overwhelmed by curiosity at what their parents are doing and want to try it themselves.

In my experience, "peer pressure" is usually just man people you respect having different opinions than you.

I think kids get involved in the "wrong" groups because they like those kids for some reason. Maybe they think they're cool because they're different and interesting; maybe they are frustrated and are looking to the rebellion of the "bad kids" as an outlet; maybe the "wrong" crowd is simply nicer to them than the "right" crowd is. Any of those motivations contain some willingness to be "corrupted."

Occasionally, an otherwise "good" kid will get involved in a group of kids who regularly break the law. I think it usually traces back to that good kid's motivations, whether other people know about those motivations or not. Maybe they're stressed out being good all the time, lonely, bored, whatever the reason, they usually choose their involvement.

I think other people can influence you, for sure. But I think you have to be willing to be influenced, and you choose who you surround yourself with.

So parents who hate their kids's friends should be worried not about the friends, but about why their child wishes to be around them.

Maybe I take an extremely literal stance on this sort of things, but for me, drinking, partying, and maybe a little experimental drug use are often natural parts of being a teen. I certainly wouldn't accept, say, ex pills that are being circulated around a given crowd, but I still know it's happening, and know and respect the people who do them enough to realize they're making a choice, and taking the associated risks. Personally though, I've never gone beyond smoking a few Js or huffing a bong. A past habit I now facetiously attribute to my anxiety issues :P

But you know, I don't think it's just the 'bad' people who do it. I think any category of high schoolers are likely to try a bit of this stuff. Even if it starts with a 'bad' crowd, word gets out, and other people wanna try it too. Which is part of growing up. Maybe it's not RIGHT... there are plenty of examples of teens who don't know when enough is enough, for instance, and worst case scenarios can end up with a trip to the ER, but it's still pretty likely to happen.

But I digress...

My main thing is that I don't see this 'bad' stuff as particularly bad. Illegal, yes, but that's because we live in a country run by puritan bible beaters.

And again, my perspective is skewed, since I've lived in England, a country where your teachers will take your entire class out for a night of drinking at 15 years of age :P

Originally Posted by Berginyon

Maybe I take an extremely literal stance on this sort of things, but for me, drinking, partying, and maybe a little experimental drug use are often natural parts of being a teen. I certainly wouldn't accept, say, ex pills that are being circulated around a given crowd, but I still know it's happening, and know and respect the people who do them enough to realize they're making a choice, and taking the associated risks. Personally though, I've never gone beyond smoking a few Js or huffing a bong. A past habit I now facetiously attribute to my anxiety issues :P

But you know, I don't think it's just the 'bad' people who do it. I think any category of high schoolers are likely to try a bit of this stuff. Even if it starts with a 'bad' crowd, word gets out, and other people wanna try it too. Which is part of growing up. Maybe it's not RIGHT... there are plenty of examples of teens who don't know when enough is enough, for instance, and worst case scenarios can end up with a trip to the ER, but it's still pretty likely to happen.

But I digress...

My main thing is that I don't see this 'bad' stuff as particularly bad. Illegal, yes, but that's because we live in a country run by puritan bible beaters.

And again, my perspective is skewed, since I've lived in England, a country where your teachers will take your entire class out for a night of drinking at 15 years of age :P

This is a good point. Kids might want to try "bad" things just because they're naturally interested. Humans have experimented with alternate states of consciousness, especially intoxication, for millennia. I see no reason why contemporary teenagers would be exempted.

I also agree with you that all kinds of groups try drugs. I was taking "bad group" to mean one that is excessively involved with them and perhaps prone to other criminal activities.

Not all people become friends because they share the same interests. Some people become friends with other people to gain benefits for themselves. It can be popularity or mere acceptance of the crowd. Sometimes, to be accepted, these types of people engage in activities which they should not have participated in if they hadn’t met those friends.

For me, a person’s friends has a high possibility to influence an individual to do something. The high desire for acceptance and the fear of rejection makes a powerful combination to convince a particular person to engage in a particular activity. And not all groups are outspoken about their activities. Some stay hidden so you can’t really say the person joined knowing that the group has deviant behavior.

And in cases when the person is deviant to start with, that person joins the crowd to gain affirmation. Of course the influence is missing there. That works mostly on interest. That’s the case you are pertaining to.