Teenage Dating

The idea of teenagers and dating is not uncommon. It is a typical social component of both middle school and high school, but especially high school. Or, at least that was the way it used to be. Yet anymore, with the influences of society, it seems as if even the youngest middle school students are engaging within this process as well. 

The concept of dating in high school can possess the negative aspect of distracting students from their work and overall preparation for college. However, dating is a part of life, and therefore it is something that teenagers at this age desire to partake in. Within this process, they begin to understand that relationships can be time consuming, and they therefore are either able to balance school and the relationship, or the relationship causes their grades to suffer. While the desire of every parent is not always to see their children so engrossed in intimate relationships, at least at an older age, it is something that is expected to a certain degree.

Dating within middle school is a more delicate issue. Middle school is an important transition period for most teenagers. The internal conflict associated with this stage of development is that, while the children are no longer young enough to express the same behavioral patterns found within elementary students, they are also not old enough to be behaving in the same manner as would a high school student. Nevertheless, during this period of time, teenagers are often confused, consequently over exaggerating what they believe to be the proper behavior for their age.

The concept of intimate relationships provides a strong example. Children in middle school believe there is an unequivocal division between the end of elementary school, and the beginning of middle school. Therefore, they feel that once they enter middle school, they need to start acting as would the stereotypical middle school student. And this is precisely the problem. Children at this age do not yet realize that there is no definite stereotype that they need to abide by.

Nonetheless, a distinction they might make is that children within elementary school do not date, whereas in middle school, the dating process begins. As a result of this, these young middle school students may go out of their way to find a boyfriend or a girlfriend. And once they do, they declare it to all of the other students. Again, the main idea being proclaimed is that one should have a relationship if they are to follow the stereotype.

The negative aspects of this behavior is that, since children within middle school do not have prior experience with intimate relationships, they have a higher potential of allowing the relationship to distract them from their school work. Also, by advocating the ideals of a relationship, children that do not have a boyfriend or a girlfriend may feel left out and unworthy.

The true problems characteristic of this behavior, is that the young middle school students have false convictions of how they are supposed to act. In high school, where teenagers are more likely to be in intimate relationships, the relationships are typically formed naturally. The students do not go out of their way to find a boyfriend or a girlfriend in order to conform to the standard. Also, the relationship typically has more depth, and is typically not only an element of display. For middle school children, dating and romance still represent very superficial entities.

Therefore, because of the problems that can emerge with young children dating, it is often not desirable to see children at these ages engaging in such behavior. In the end, there is a time and a place for everything. A relationship will come at the right time, and the right time is not defined as the period when middle school begins. Also, as the times change, children have to do things at younger and younger ages as it is. For example, what used to be high school is now basically college preparation. Dating does not have to be one of them.