Why Are Adolescents More Easily Influenced? – Being Parents

Why are adolescents more easily influenced? Adolescence is the stage at which we begin to shape our identity. The latter is what defines us and differentiates us at the same time.

However, what a teenager generally looks for is no difference. The fear of being different leads to emotional insecurity. This makes the adolescent vulnerable to social influences.

The adolescent seeks to fit into a mold, to be part of society or a group of peers (which has acquired great importance). Until now, for the minor, his parents were the reference figure and the model to follow. However, with the onset of adolescence,  the peer group acquires the role of referent with the parents.

When we say that teens are more easily influenced, we are also referring to the positive side. For example, a teenager decides to choose studies because he had a good teacher in that subject. Or to join a football club because of his friends.

What does social influence consist of? Why are adolescents more easily influenced?

Psychologists PG Zimbardo and Michael Leippe understand social influence as a process. A process by which one person’s behavior changes the way the other person behaves, feels, or thinks about a specific stimulus.

Therefore, we could argue that  social influence encompasses thoughts, feelings and behaviors. 

From the point of view of social psychology, there are two types of social influence:

• Informative. By applying it to adolescents, they can be affected by this type of influence in various contexts. For example, when they observe others for information about the environment  or when they feel uncertainty in a situation. This explains why they are easily influenced.

• Normative. Although it has always been said that adolescence is the rebellious era, the survival instinct is stronger. Young people instinctively adapt to the environment and to fit into a mold in society,  they must accept its norms.

Social compliance according to Asch

Salomon Asch was the first to study social conformity. In his experiment “Which line is equal to the other?”, He demonstrated that  subjects changed their response depending on whether they were in a group or alone. A subject was chosen for the experiment which had to answer the questions alone or in a group (the other participants were accomplices).

The results demonstrated how the group’s opinion influences the topic. The group puts pressure on the individual to such an extent that he changes his opinion for that of the group,  even if it is false.

Social conformity is a kind of normative influence. This theory explains why a teenager behaves differently if he is at home, in class or with his friends.

The teenager, despite his opinion,  changes it because of the pressure exerted on him by others. Thus, the adolescent behaves in a different way than if he were alone.

The reasons that lead to social conformity are very varied. For example, the adolescent has no objective criteria and resorts to comparison with his friends, accepting their discernment. Or to  avoid social ridicule for fear of being isolated.

Help your children cope with social pressure

When a teenager feels pressure from a peer group, he may end up doing something he deep down did not want. The adolescent changes his values ​​because he wants to feel accepted and valued by his friends. He adapts to feel that he is part of a group.

This is why it is important for parents to know how to help their children cope with social pressure.

• Learn to say “no”. If your child can’t find a suitable form of saying he doesn’t want to do something, teach him some ways to say “no”. These will be useful to him. For example, if he is encouraged to smoke: “No, I don’t like the taste” or “No, I don’t like the smell”.

• Expand the social network. Help your child develop friendships in other social circles. By having different friends, he will have more options and sources of support if things go wrong with the other group of friends.
• Be yourself. Often times, being yourself helps keep social pressure at bay. If your child is unhappy with themselves and the way they think, show them  that the best way to be happy is to be themselves.
• Strong self-esteem. Raising your child’s self-esteem makes them stronger to resist social pressure from their peer group or the media.

The adolescent does not only modify his behavior to adapt to his environment. Social influences also shape its identity. It is normal for adolescents to be more vulnerable to their environment. Especially when social networks have a significant influence on the youngest.

Adolescents are more easily influenced by social pressures since both they discover themselves and they try to fit into a mold. For these reasons, it is essential that adolescents  strike a balance between being themselves and adapting to their environment.