Dating in the Disney Channel shows goes like this:
Starting at 11 or 12 years old, you find someone you are superficially interested in, then you talk about it and become boyfriend/girlfriend almost immediately. This means you limit most of your social contact to this person. And it surely implies some physical relationship. You'll hold hands, hug, and experiment with kissing.
There's a prestige to being connected to someone. And there's a lot of peer pressure to be linked up with someone--especially in the pre-16 years. Post-16, there's a tendency to only accept dates with a person you're interested in being boyfriend/girlfriend with.
Facebook reinforces this kind of dating by allowing two status choices--"single" or "in a relationship."
In my mind, a person is "single" until they are married. And being "in a relationship" would be something that happens to a couple when they are OLD--like in their 20's--and they think they might want to marry each other.
LDS teens really have to fight, fight, fight to not be caught up in this cultural mindset.
It
is healthier for a teen and better preparation for his or her future marriage and family to learn to be a friend to LOTS of different people and avoid exclusive relationships.
Lewis Generation II seems to have an excellent understanding of this concept. A hearty "good job!" to our current teens, Ryan, Rachel, Camille, Alyssa, Jaron, Megan, Amy, Krysta, McKay, Erin, Eric, Tricia, Jeremy, Justin, Jonathan, and Jamison!
