When I was growing up, I always thought that dating was something adults do when they decided it was time for their marriage. I had always seen women and men in their twenties, sometimes older, having deep intimate relationships, driving around on dates, and then eventually the guy proposes and they live happily ever after in the movies. Words cannot even explain how appalled I was when I noticed around October, November, December of my 7th grade year, children, 13 years old, were having boyfriend and girlfriend relationships! Since they were so young, they would literally have their own parents chauffeur them around, going on so-called “dates” with each other. They would hold hands and display PDA while walking down halls and sit next to each other at lunch time. I remember thinking how pathetic this all was; why are 7th graders planning to get married? I believed all these kid’s “dating” flings were petty, and that nothing would come out of it. Boy was I wrong! Dating brought so much drama upon students, so much scandal, and so many fights over guys which were friendship-terminating. The “prettiest” girls would get the most guys, and thus the separation of the classes happened. Name-calling and hurt feelings were all spat out and occurred constantly, and this all continues into the 8th grade, still.
All this is why I believe dating in middle school and even the early years of high school is highly unnecessary and well, stupid! It causes so much drama and fighting between friends as jealously flares up. Besides, why would anyone want to date in seventh and eighth grade when there are so many other important things to focus on like, I don’t know, possibly SCHOOL? People get so wrapped up in relationships that never last and then they fail to notice that they are letting their whole life slip away by slacking off and earning poor grades; grades that will eventually define their future. Also, kids don’t have jobs! They are wasting their parents money and their allowance to take their partner out instead of saving it for much better uses.
Grave mistakes can also happen with juvenile dating, life-altering mistakes and pressures that are so not worth having a boyfriend or girlfriend to look “cool”. I’ve met several people who have regretted it so much, and yet others who believe dating makes the world go ‘round, which is quite ridiculous.
As you can see, dating, unless you’re honestly looking for a spouse in 7th grade which it is highly unlikely and pretty odd, is an incredible waste of time, money, and emotions. I’m not sure where kids get it from and why they feel the need to do it, but something that appears even as insignificant as dating, can seriously distract someone and potentially ruin their life. So let’s end the madness!
~Esha Bhandari