Resisting the air fryer frenzy: A lesson on peer pressure
For most teenage girls are influenced by their peers when making decisions.
What you need to know:
- Resist the temptation to buy things just because everyone around you has them.
- Do not add the pressure of such a big lie to your academic work.
Over the weekend, I nearly succumbed to the pressure to buy an air fryer. I can’t clearly tell you what an air fryer does, except that I have been seeing it on popular cooking pages.
The sensible side of me knows I do not need it. But last weekend, after reading comments on a post where ‘everyone’ seemed to have an air fryer, I decided to get one.
As the salesgirl walked me through the functionalities, I quickly googled, “What can I cook in an air fryer?” The results included things like salmon, shrimp, and tofu, confirming that I should probably spend that Sh10,000 on something else.
If you are a working-class woman and have so far resisted the pressure of buying an air fryer, congratulations! So thick is the pressure we even have memes dedicated to them.
If you haven’t met an air fryer owner who says, "I can’t believe you do not have an air fryer" or "everything is so much better with an air fryer," then you are in luck. This incident got me thinking about how pervasive peer pressure can be and how easy it is to lose track when the ‘natural instinct’ to fit in rears its head.
This column is dedicated to first-year students who officially begin their adult life later this month. Like the pressure I felt to buy an air fryer, expect similar experiences. From fitting into certain cliques to curating your new identity, there will be moments when you will get close to giving in to peer pressure. Let’s go through a short list.
The pressure to only work with your clique. You see that classmate whose guts you and your friends cannot stand? The one you have never spoken to, and although it is your first week in university, you know deep in your heart that for the four years you will be in that school, you will never speak to. In fact, you and your friends already have a not-so-flattering nickname for them.
Let’s face it, there are people you wouldn’t want to be caught dead hanging out with in the impressionable university years. Maybe they are just not cool – for any number of flimsy reasons.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is a good chance that when you randomly form discussion groups, you will end up in one group with that exact classmate you do not like. Whatever happens, do not skip your group discussions or be a bad team player. Think of that as an opportunity to learn how to work with people from different walks of life.
Remember, in the next three or so years, when you start applying for attachments, internships, or jobs, you will not have the opportunity to decide who your colleagues will be. Take that opportunity to build collaborative skills. If you survive the pressure to only work with the people you like, you will unlikely flourish professionally.
The pressure to pretend you are someone else. Impressions matter. But please, do not take it too far. One of my classmates had us convinced that she came from a rich family. In fact, she was only at the University of Nairobi to understand local culture. There was a way she pronounced "local”. To a bunch of 18- and 19-year-olds, her story was, of course, believable and even aspirational.
However, it never escaped our minds that she never seemed to have money for lunch, and none of us offered to help because we thought she was on one diet or another.
The truth eventually comes out, but my point is, do not add the pressure of such a big lie to your academic work. The earlier you resist the unnecessary pressure to be what you are not, the less pressured you will feel by hashtags such as #softlife.
Lastly, learn from me and resist the temptation to buy things just because everyone around you has them. The experience has reminded me about the power peer pressure wields in our lives. And while the four years will not be completely free from peer pressure, the goal is to make sure peer pressure doesn’t lead you into any life-changing mistakes.
The writer is the Research & Impact Editor, NMG ([email protected]).
