Roti, Kapda, Makaan Aur Social Acceptance

There was a time when food scarcity and impure air,
Were probably mankind's biggest nightmare.
With passage of time, we got some new fears,
One such being-
"Will I get along with my peers?"

Once there was a time when human needs were summarized perfectly, first by India's ex Prime Minister Late Ms. Indira Gandhi in 1960s, and then these needs were made a cliche by Amitabh Bachchan's movie - Roti,Kapda aur Makaan (Food,Clothes and Shelter). But today's case is the apt example of the how, with passage of time, our 'basic amenities' are transforming. Speaking of the new age, one thing ,that has not only been lingering, but has also been complacent, is the fear of being socially accepted. Psychology calls it Peer Pressure; the youth calls it Trend. This is probably that one topic everyone has heard of, but is implemented by hardly any.

So what is Social Acceptance? Social acceptancecan be defined as the fact that most people, in order to fit in with others, attempt to look and act like them. Social acceptance is one of the latitudes of Social Judgement Theory proposed by Carloyn Sherif, Muzafar Sherif and Carl Hovland. Binding two different seeming ends, to be accepted by the society, one has to do what the people in it are doing. And this is Peer Pressure. You come to a new tuition. You see after the class, some of your classmates go down to have a smoke, while some stay there to study. You feel that the group of smokers is the cool one. To be a part of that gang, you start smoking. This is peer pressure.

Mankind doesn't comprise the young ones only. Adults too get victimized by peer pressure. Your Father's brother buys a gold chain for his wife. Now your father too will buy one, else the society will consider him inferior. Going by the loop, if you don't do what others do, either you become a trendsetter or you are banished from your desired group. And in today's world, you are banished more times than you become a trendsetter. Hence, social acceptance leads to peer pressure. Surprisingly, not all peer pressures are negative; some can be benefial to you.

If we talk about the tuition going You, who chooses studious batchmates over the smoker ones, then this is also Peer Pressure. But this is Positive Peer Pressure. When your father's colleagues donated Rs 5000 in the CRPF Relief Account, and your father did the same, that is Postive Peer Pressure.

Schools today tell us what is Peer Pressure, but what they don't tell is how to get Roti, Kapda, Makaan and Social Acceptance, but not with unnecessary peer pressure.

What we should do to deal with negative peer pressure?

1. Analyse the long term implications of society you are willing to be a denizen of.

2. Learn it - NO MEANS NO

3. These peers will intimidate you with threats of rejection. But they are just humans and the world literally has more than a billion of people. And definitely there are some better ones too.

4. Use an excuse and scram.

5. Let your brain be your brain.

6. Discuss it with someone who you believe will give you the best piece of advice.

And what should we do to deal with positive peer pressure?

Well, Let it flow in your system. Let it do something good for you, something better for the society. That should be the ideal definition of ROTI, KAPDA, MAKAAN AND SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE.