History Main / PeerPressureMakesYouEvil

This is the polar opposite of LoveRedeems and ThePowerOfFriendship because the new circle of friends or role models is a bad influence on someone who started out as a good person. Can also be considered the opposite of TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong in which the Aesop is about how you ''should'' go along with the group, as well as an overlapping trope to TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight. Compare PopularIsEvil, which can overlap with this trope because the peers who pressure you are popular, and you go along with them to be popular, too.

->'''Homer:''' The other critics told me to be mean, and you should always give in to peer pressure. \\
'''Lisa:''' But Dad, what if someone bad tells me to-- \\

* ''Film/MeanGirls'' (2004), in which the AlphaBitch and her GirlPosse take the NoSocialSkills protagonist under their collective wing.
* ''Film/TheLostBoys,'' wherein joining a gang makes you evil ''and'' a vampire.
* Clint Eastwood puts a stop to this in ''Film/GranTorino''.
* ''Film/TheBasketballDiaries'' is the epitome of this trope. While Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio's character wasn't exactly squeaky clean to begin, he could still be considered a normal teen. Over the course of the movie, he becomes a heroin addict and a prostitute.

* ''Film/EdenLake'': If not for Brett, the gang wouldn't have gone to such horrifying extremes.

* The second half of ''[[Literature/SherlockHolmes Valley of Fear]]'' is a lot like this, though the Scowrers are less amiable than most peer sets. [[spoiler: But that's just on the surface. It's a glorious subversion.]]
%% * ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'': Played straight with Aphrodite but toyed with for Zoey.
* The first ''Literature/DisneyChills'' book has Shelly pretend not to care about the environment or its sea creatures and deliberately litter when prompted to out of a desire to keep her popular 'friends' happy.

* A popular variation is having to commit a felony to get into a group as a type of initiation rite. In ''Series/GilmoreGirls'', Rory is goaded into breaking into the headmaster's office and ringing a bell while reciting some lines about loyalty. When she gets caught, she complains that the only reason she joined the sorority is that the headmaster complained she was [[LonersAreFreaks a loner]]. As proof here's [[http://www.tv.com/gilmore-girls/like-mother-like-daughter/episode/79928/recap.html the TV.com recap of the episode]].

'''Dougal:''' Crack cocaine! Now come on, Ted! [Dougal looks away with a hilariously shifty expression.]
* In the first episode of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Cordelia befriends Buffy, thinking she's another AlphaBitch. (Which she was before she became the Slayer). When Buffy sees how mean Cordelia really is when she insults a shy girl (Willow), Buffy befriends Willow instead.
** However, it's implied it's the reason Cordy is such a bitch to begin with. In the episode ''Out of Mind, Out of Sight'', she tells Buffy how she feels alone even when surrounded by her [[GirlPosse Cordettes]], but "it beats being alone by yourself".
** Giles also assumes in "The Pack" that this is what's happening to Xander. It turns out to be possession by hyena spirits, however.
* Among the fandom of ''Series/TheShield'', This trope is the excuse of choice amongst fans of Ronnie Gardocki Curtis "Lem" Lemansky, the show's duo of DracoInLeatherPants.
* Happens with Jenny on ''Series/GossipGirl''.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'', it is pretty clear from Finn's very first scene that he doesn't like bullying, but he doesn't stop the bullies either, this happens again in episodes 8 and 12.

* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in an episode of ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld''. After Cory steals a bottle of whiskey from his father and gets himself and Shawn drunk and arrested, Cory's father refuses to believe that Cory chose to drink on his own and accuses Shawn of pressuring Cory into it. Shawn attempts to play into this trope and 'admits' to cajoling Cory into drinking, to get Cory out of trouble, but Cory rejects his attempt to take the rap and impresses on his parents that he chose to drink all on his own due to his own personal problems, and they can't always shift the blame onto his friends.

* It's implied in ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' that a good part of [[AlphaBitch Otome]]'s bullying against Kotonoha comes from her GirlPosse encouraging and egging her on. Otome herself is '''not''' an innocent dove in all of this (as her bad behavior comes from [[GreenEyedMonster her envy of Koto's popularity with guys]]), but depending on you-as-Makoto's actions, she may show a kinder side to her.

--> Dr. Horrible: "I deserve to get in, you know I do. But... ''killing''?"

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool'' episode "Girls Behaving Oddly", 'bad girl' Moxi persuades Kuzco and Kronk (masquerading as girls) to break into Mr. Purutu's office and steal his windchimes.
** But then, Kronk is continually doing evil things [[PsychoSupporter for Yzma]], and most of the good things [[JerkAss Kuzco]] does are because his friends call him out.
* In the 1968 ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "WesternAnimation/{{Norman Normal|1968}}", Norman is a businessman whose boss pressures him to bait a client into signing a contract by getting him drunk. The two even briefly metamorphose into children as Norman's boss puts pressure on him.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E4OneBadApple One Bad Apple]]", Apple Bloom's cousin Babs Seed comes to visit Ponyville. When Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon bully the Cutie Mark Crusaders as usual, Babs gives in to their bullying and turns out to be even worse than them. It is later revealed that she suffered bullying back at Manehatten as well. Babs finally stopped bullying when the Crusaders save her from a trap, which they set up for her before they learned about her troubles.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'':
** In "Dipper vs. Manliness", Dipper falls in with a group of {{testosterone poison|ing}}ed minotaurs ("Manotaurs" according to them) who try to teach him how to be a man. The last task is to go out and slay the [[BearsAreBadNews Multi-Bear]], but when Dipper confronts him it turns out the Multi-Bear is a NiceGuy with similar tastes in girly pop music as Dipper. Dipper refuses to kill the bear and goes home, and Stan ([[{{Jerkass}} of all people]]) congratulates him on doing the right thing even if no one supported him.
** Spoofed in one TV short, where [[PoliceAreUseless Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland]] do an in-universe PSA on peer pressure. It is ridiculously {{Anvilicious}}, as well as TotallyRadical.
-->"''Uh uh no no bippity-bop kazow! I can't be pressured no way no how!''"
* Possibly the darkest example of this trope comes from the WartimeCartoon ''WesternAnimation/EducationForDeath''. Hans' teacher tries to teach him MightMakesRight with a story about how a fox ate a rabbit. Hans, to the teacher's fury, actually feels sorry for the poor rabbit. After some time with a DunceCap, Hans [[CorruptTheCutie comes to believe in]] [[TheSocialDarwinist crushing the weak]].
* This is the subject for the "[[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle Sonic Says]]" segment at the end of the ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' episode, "Robotnik Jr." In it, Sonic is lured into a trap, and Scratch orders Junior to press the button that activates the trap. Junior refuses and warns Sonic of the trap. After Sonic traps Scratch, he congratulates Junior and explains to him and the viewers that giving in to peer pressure is doing things you think are wrong when other people say it's cool.
* Downplayed in the ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' episode "Y Tu Ga-Ga Tambien". Gene doesn't hate ga-ga ball, and it isn't portrayed as a bad thing; it's the fact that everyone's being pressured into playing it because of the "everyone likes it" rhetoric that he hates.

** In "Marge Be Not Proud", Nelson and Jimbo (as well as [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario, Luigi]], Franchise/DonkeyKong and VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog in Bart's fantasy) pressure Bart into shoplifting a copy of the ''Bonestorm'' video game.

* In ''Manga/PrivateActress'', while neither [[spoiler: Maki Kouno]] now [[spoiler: Mai Housaka]] is a peach, it turns out that their AlphaBitch [[spoiler: Kana Juumonji]] has them completely dominated through fear. [[spoiler: When Maki begins to break through and is heading to a HeelFaceTurn thanks to the protagonist Shiho Kobayakawa, Kana convinces Mai to attack her as retaliation.]]

* In his ''Literature/{{Confessions}}'', St. Augustine doubts he would have been brave enough to steal or lust as much as he did in his adolescence if he hadn't associated himself with a group of idiots and brutes who never expressed any moral qualms about their robberies and vandalism.

This is the polar opposite of LoveRedeems and ThePowerOfFriendship, because the new circle of friends or role models is a bad influence on someone who started out as a good person. Can also be considered the opposite of TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong in which the Aesop is about how you ''should'' go along with the group, as well as an overlapping trope to TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight. Compare PopularIsEvil, which can overlap with this trope because the peers who pressure you are popular, and you go along with them to be popular, too.

* Miyoko Shitou from ''Manga/ShadowStar'' is a nice girl and kind of a ShrinkingViolet. Bad thing, though? One of her closest friends is Aki Honda, AlphaBitch from Hell, and she and her GirlPosse terrorise Miyoko into helping them bullying the smartest girl of their class, [[{{Ojou}} Hiroko]] [[LonelyRichKid Kaizuka.]]. [[spoiler: With FATAL consequences, since Hiroko goes CuteAndPsycho on them once the girls cross the MoralEventHorizon in regards to her.]]

* In his ''Literature/{{Confessions}}'', St. Augustine doubts he would have been brave enough to steal or lust as much as he did in his adolescence if he hadn't associated himself with a group of idiots and brutes who never expressed any moral qualms about their robberies and vandalisms.

* ''Series/{{Glee}}'', it is pretty clear from Finn very first scene that he doesn't like bullying, but he doesn't stop the bullies either, this happens again in episode 8 and 12.

* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', Taylor is a young, bullied girl who makes the first friends that she's had in a year with a group of teenaged supervillains, who she joins with the intent of betraying to the authorities, but she eventually decides that she values their friendship more than helping the authorities that abandoned her at every turn and joins them fully.

* Among the advice given to recovering alcoholics or drug users is to separate from persons and places you were involved with when addict, because addicts tend to have their lives revolving around their drugs and such persons and places might still be linked to these addictions. For exemple an alcoholic might be advised to not assosiate anymore with the golf club he used to belong to, since he mainly drank booze there.

* ''Film/TheLostBoys,'' wherein peer pressure makes you evil ''and'' a vampire.

** But then, Kronk is continually doing evil things [[PoisonousFriend for Yzma]], and most of the good things [[JerkAss Kuzco]] does are because his friends call him out.

* It's implied in ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' that a good part of [[AlphaBitch Otome]]'s bullying against Kotonoha comes from her GirlPosse encouraging and egging her on. Otome herself is '''not''' an innocent dove in all of this (as her bad behavior comes from [[GreenEyedmonster her envy of Koto's popularity with guys]]), but depending on you-as-Makoto's actions, she may show a kinder side to her.

This is the polar opposite of LoveRedeems and ThePowerOfFriendship, because the new circle of friends or role models is a bad influence on someone who started out as a good person. Can also be considered the opposite of TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong in which the Aesop is about how you ''should'' go along with the group. Compare PopularIsEvil, which can overlap with this trope because the peers who pressure you are popular, and you go along with them to be popular, too.

* In the first ''Film/{{Scream 1996}}'', Stu makes the feeble claim that he'll blame peer pressure for his and Billy's homicidal rampage if they're caught.
* In ''Film/{{Thirteen}}'', this ends up happening to Tracy when she starts hanging out with Evie, the most popular girl in school and a serial shoplifter. From being an honor roll student, Tracy's life goes ''way'' down south, so far she becomes a junkie. [[spoiler:Only her self-mutilation habits don't have anything to do with it all.]]

** Teen Movie example: ''Film/CantBuyMeLove''.
** Infamous exception: ''Film/{{Grease}}''
* Tom Cruise's character Mitch [=McDeere=] in ''Film/TheFirm'' (1993). Quote from Internet Movie Database:

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[[folder:Truth in Television]]

This trope is often used in {{anvil|OfTheStory}}-laden lessons about not mindlessly following one's peers. Expect scenes to contain a ToxicFriendInfluence, JumpOffABridgeRebuttal, and IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten.