Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala

Facultad de Humanidades

Dating at Young
Ages

Guatemala, August 11th, 2018

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 TABLE OF
CONTENTS
TOPIC PAGE
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
Topic 1 – Dating at young ages.......................................................................................................4
Topic 1.1 – When should one start dating?..........................................................................5
Topic 1. 2 – The appropriate age for dating.........................................................................6
Topic 1. 3 – Early loss of innocence ...................................................................................6
Topic 1. 4 – Educational Effects..........................................................................................6
Topic 1. 5 – Anxiety among parents....................................................................................6
Topic 1. 6 – Social Interaction.............................................................................................7
Topic 1. 7 – Practice of early unsafe physical intimacy......................................................7
Topic 1. 8 – Multiple Relationships ....................................................................................7
Topic 1. 9 – Emotional Effects............................................................................................7
Topic 1. 10 – Negative Effects ............................................................................................8
Topic 1. 11 – Healthy Relationships ...................................................................................8
CONCLUSIONS..............................................................................................................................9
RECOMENDATIONS..................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES or BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................11

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 Introduction
It is a common phenomenon to fall in love at a young age, especially when the changes in hormones among
young boys and girls develop and they feel an attraction towards the opposite sex. I believe it is a normal thing
to fall in love or develop crush on the opposite sex at this age. As the attraction becomes mutual it results
in a relationship.
WiThedvent of social media applications like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp and Tinder,
which generally targets the young audience have made the term ‘dating’ particularly at a young age fashionable
and sought-after thing.  I this document I will be sharing the different aspects that influence in a teenager life
when dating at a young age.

In this file you also might read about the different relationships affect teenagers in various ways. Friends impact
teenagers almost the same amount as their parents. Teenagers go to their friends for help or to ask questions that
they could not ask their parents about. Most of the time their friends give them good advice but then there is the
down side when they put pressure on their friends to do something like to smoke, drink, and do drugs. In most
cases they tell their friends how to dress and act when around certain people. Love relationships just make it
even harder for a teenager to get a good education and a proper puberty development.

Dating at young ages

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 Dating begins from the teenage years generally after fifteen and the age varies from place to place and
according to different cultures.
However, many believe that early dating can lead you into several unfortunate circumstances such as losing
your childhood.
It is the phase when a boy or a girl starts developing its puberty and enjoys the juvenile phase. 
The appropriate age for dating  
In my opinion parents should be the ones on making the decision of when they will allow their kids to start
dating, based upon their personal beliefs and understanding their teen’s emotional and physical development.
Even though there is so agreement as what is too early, there is no universal right age. Just because most of the
children are dating at an early age doesn’t mean it’s a goo thing.
Early loss of innocence  
I believe that a teen first of all needs to develop their own identify before they start dating, most of them
don’t even know themselves to share about them to somebody else. Usually they have a tendency to imitate the
grown up world, for example girls dressing up like young celebrity models and pose selfies on social media,
boys on the other hand start growing beards as it is the latest fashion scenario among men globally.
Moreover, this is a period of confusion among the teenagers as no one is there to guide them into the correct
path and sometimes parents being pre-occupied by their work, fail to overlook the needs of their children.
Under such circumstances, instead of enjoying the adolescent they have an early plunge into
the complicated adult world. 
Educational Effects
There is a research that demonstrates that children at young ages who begging dating, start to concentrate
less in school grades, they also start discovering the aspects and ideas of being in a relationship which
ultimately affects their own lives as they begin to spend lesser time with their family members and friends or
ignore their studies and other recreational activities.
Being in a relationship demands a lot of maturity. It requires care and a lot of patience which the young
minds can’t handle properly resulting in the loss of interest in studies and declining of good grades from the
result sheets.  
Anxiety among parents 
For parents it is a very difficult task to handle the concept of being okay with their teenage children going
for dates.
Since at this phase the teenager’s minds cannot judge between the right and wrong, they argue with their
parents which causes a discord between the parents and children.
Thus the situation requires a mature handling.
Under such circumstances there should be a proper communication between the parents and children.
Instead of being harsh and imposing restrictions or avoiding the topic of dating, parents should take the
initiative to discuss openly with their children upon the ups and downs of early dating.  

Social Interactions
Early dating and committing into a relationship can break a friendship as it requires attention constantly.
Youngsters fall into this trap as they start ignoring their friends and take them for granted as soon as they start
dating.
In this way they isolate themselves from their friendship community and miss out all the fun and recreational
stuffs they once did together.
However once the relationship breaks they then start realizing upon how they neglected their friends.
Sometimes it becomes too late as others move ahead in their life and do not acknowledge the friendship
anymore.
Hence it should be noted that friends are essential in our lives and we should always maintain the term
‘friendship’ more than relationship. 

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Practice of early unsafe physical intimacy 
After dating for a period, it is a common assumption that youngsters will be taking their relationship to the
next level of physical intimacy.
But it has certain serious complications and youngsters do not realize it and repent only when the deed is
done and no solution emerges.
It can lead into pregnancy among girls at an early age or sexually transmitted disease from one partner to
another.
Without proper or half knowledge youngsters try to imitate adults by falling into a physical relationship.
Youngsters should be made aware of the complications that arise with physical intimacy.  
Multiple Relationships 
Once youngsters develop the idea of dating in their minds it becomes difficult for them to stay away from it,
some cannot stay single anymore because they have become accustomed with staying committed.
Youngsters become so much involved with their partners that once the relationship gets over they fall for
another relationship without knowing its consequences.
They feel hollow when they are single and moreover there is peer pressure of having a boyfriend/girlfriend.
In this way youngsters become dependent and feel lonely when they are not in a relationship. It leads to wrong
selection of partner and further emotional breakdown. 
Emotional Effects
Breaking up has become a common phrase among the youngsters who are falling into relationships easily
now-a-days.
However, irrespective of age, heart break is intolerable and causes a lot of emotional turmoil upon the mind of
the individual.
Since youngsters have a vulnerable and inexperienced attitude they usually end up hurting themselves in order
to move out from the trauma.
Youngsters generally go into depression, stop socializing and detach themselves from their everyday activities
and under drastic situations try to harm themselves by committing suicide.
Under such a situation, parents should take the initiative to monitor upon their children’s activities.
They should be encouraged to resume to their normal activities and forget the past. In case if the matter gets
worse, psychiatric help should be administered.  

Negative Effects
Multiple dating at early age shows its negative effects in the later stages of life as well.
When a youngster is busy dating at a time when studying hard and securing good grades for obtaining a good
job, the person loses his/her chance of excelling well and moving ahead successfully in life. (Mentor, 2018)
Healthy Relationships
Characteristics of healthy teen-dating relationships are open communication and trust between partners of
nearly the same age, says Sarah Sorenson in "Adolescent Romantic Relationships," published online by ACT
for Youth Center of Excellence. It mentions that experts disagree on the impact of having a boyfriend or
girlfriend in high school, expressing concern for the need for personal identity before becoming involved in a
dating relationship, while others believe that teen dating is an important part of the process of establishing self-
identity. Benefits of dating while in high school include development of social skills, interdependence,
cooperation, empathy and sensitivity. (Kilpatrick, 2018)

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 Conclusions
Although many negative effects of dating during the pre-teen and early adolescent years are noted --
poor academic performance, low educational aspirations, delinquency, enduring poor social skills,
sexual activity, depression and drug use, having a boyfriend or girlfriend during the high school years
seems to have a more positive effect. With greater emotional development and social skills, dating in
later teen years can facilitate the development of personal identity and coping skills. Sorenson reports
that tenth graders, becoming increasingly more autonomous from their parents, gain social support from
dating relationships, trumped only by close friends.

Violence among teen dating partners has garnered national attention and has been called a public
health problem that leads to adverse health outcomes. In "Teens and Dating: Tips for Parents and
Professionals," Kate Fogarty says teens who feel warmth and support from parents experience more
positive and secure friendships. Fogarty further reports that teen girls who have strong relationships with
their mothers and who are not involved in steady dating have higher academic achievement than girls in
romantic relationships. Parents can help their teenagers avoid negative dating experiences by keeping
communication open in a warm and supportive relationship.

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 Recommendations
I think that teenagers should be role models for young students at school, around family or in their
neighborhood. Teenagers should get more involved with their community. If they get more involved in
other activities, there will most likely be a drop in teen violence. The community could be a cleaner and
safer place for teenagers if they get more involved in their towns and cities. They should also volunteer for
jobs like being as firefighter, highway trash collector, nurse that goes around and helps the elderly. If teens
get involved in those jobs they would be helping the whole community.

In my personal option teenage students who are abstinent from sexual activity have higher academic
achievement, according to Robert Rector and Kirk A. Johnson in "Teenage Sexual Abstinence and
Achievement." Statistics indicate that abstinent students are 60 percent less likely to be expelled from
school, 50 percent more likely to graduate and twice as likely to complete college. However, it is not
necessarily the sexual abstinence that gets the credit for the greater academic performance. It may be that
the characteristics of the student who abstains are the same characteristics that help the student succeed
academically -- impulse control, perseverance, ability to resist peer pressure and more respect for parental
and societal norms.

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 References
Dating at young ages:
- Study mentor, Dating at Young Age: Negative Effects. (March, 2018)
https://www.studytoday.net/dating-young-age-/
- Melanie Zimmer-Gembeck, Academic Editor, Young Love: Romantic Concerns and Associated Mental
Health Issues among Adolescent Help-Seekers (May 6, 2016)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4931381/
- Judy Kilpatrick, What Are the Effects of High School Students Having a Boyfriend or Girlfriend? (2018)
https://oureverydaylife.com/effects-high-school-students-having-boyfriend-girlfriend-6709.html
- Heather R. The Effects of Teenage Relationships (March 5, 2010)
-
http://www.teenink.com/opinion/social_issues_civics/article/185718/The-Effects-of-Teenage-Relationships

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