KIDS CONSIDER THE POWER OF PEERS IN NICK NEWS WITH LINDA ELLERBEE "IF ALL THE OTHER KIDS ARE...? THE POLITICS OF PEER PRESSURE" PREMIERING TUESDAY, MAY 13, AT 8 P.M. (ET/PT) ON NICKELODEON

It's cool, everyone's doing it! Kids share stories of feeling pressured by their peers to behave a certain way in the brand-new half-hour Nick News with Linda Ellerbee special, "If all the other kids are...? The Politics of Peer Pressure," premiering Tuesday, May 13, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. The special explores the power of peer pressure and its negative and positive effects.

"I definitely think I've changed myself around people, so they liked me or still wanted to be friends with me," says Hannah, 14, of Demerest, N.J.

"I think kids convince other kids and push them to do dangerous and risky things to boost their popularity and to gain a sort of social power," says Simon, 13, of Boston, Mass.

"I used to hang out with a group of friends who used to shoplift," says Maggie, 17, of Philadelphia, Penn. "We went to a department store and I was like, you know what, I might as well try, since like everybody's doin' it. The cops were called and I got caught and had to deal with the consequences."

The special also touches on how peer pressure can be positive. Zeke, 12, of New York says pressure from his friend makes him a better comic book artist. Liz, 12, of Boston, Mass. was pressured to join the debate team by friends and now loves it. Epiphany, 14, of New York says she never would have joined student government if it weren't for peer pressure.

Maddy, 18, of Holland, Mich. is a member of a group of high school students who talk to middle school kids about recognizing peer pressure and how to deal with it. "We're in high school and we're still feeling it every day," she says. "So it's really important that we're getting to them now because in middle school they're gonna make decisions that lead into how they're gonna get on with the rest of their lives."

"Go along with the group or don't go along with the group?" says Linda Ellerbee. "Either choice comes with consequences, so which is the right choice? Generally, if you listen to your inner self, you'll find you already know the right choice."

Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is now in its 23rd year and is the longest-running kids' news show in television history. It has built its reputation on the respectful and direct way it speaks to kids about the important issues of the day. Over the years, Nick News has received more than 21 Emmy nominations and recently won its tenth Emmy Award for Forgotten But Not Gone: Kids, HIV & AIDS in the category of Outstanding Children's Nonfiction Program. Additional Emmy wins for outstanding children's programming include: Under the Influence: Kids of Alcoholics (2011); (The Face of Courage: Kids Living with Cancer (2010); Coming Home: When Parents Return from War (2009); The Untouchable Kids of India (2008); Private Worlds: Kids and Autism (2007); Never Again: From the Holocaust to the Sudan (2005); Faces of Hope: The Kids of Afghanistan (2002) and What Are You Staring At? (1998). In addition, in 1995, the entire series won the Emmy. In 2009, Nick News was honored with the Edward R. Murrow Award for best Network News Documentary for Coming Home: When Parents Return from War - the first-ever kids' television program to receive this prestigious award. Nick News has also received three Peabody Awards, including a personal award given to Ellerbee for explaining the impeachment of President Clinton to kids, as well as a Columbia duPont Award and more than a dozen Parents' Choice Awards.