We all are familiar with the high school sweethearts in movies. Love at first sight, school dances and risqué dates at the movie theatre. Cliché couple after cliché couple dance across our TV screens. But how do real high school relationships play out? How does the average Minnetonka student play the dating game?
In a survey of 229 Minnetonka students, 60% of those surveyed haven’t had any romantic relationships. The consensus among surveyed students was that it is better to wait and know your boundaries and priorities before dating. Several people suggested building a strong identity and loving yourself before you love someone else.
Additionally, 57% of those who had been in a relationship didn’t regret it, even if it had fallen apart.
“Use every mistake that you make as someone’s partner as a learning opportunity for the next relationship you have with someone else. Just don’t take it too seriously,” an anonymous MHS student advised.
The majority of Minnetonka students said their longest fling lasted about three months or less. Long term relationships are few and far between, with only about 12% of them lasting more than a year.
Licensed social worker Jody Schreiber argues that long term, serious relationships could be harmful to students.
“I think super serious relationships are good to avoid in high school. Those tend to bring lots of risky and potentially dangerous consequences that can put your education in jeopardy,” Schreiber said.
The distorted view of high school romance can be attributed to the media. Movies like High School Musical, Heathers, and Mean Girls idealize the teen couple.The cliché love story has been played over and over, so no wonder some people can think dating is more important than it is.
According to the Huffington Post, a mere 2% of married couples dated in high school and that number is shrinking. People are getting married later in life, allowing for the rise of Internet dating and a broader pool for those looking for love.
Dating in high school isn’t that important, despite what the media will tell you. You have your entire life to be in a relationship and and you probably have more important priorities right now. It may seem like dating is important, but realistically, it can wait.