Livin’ a teenage dream

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Gone are the days when you said, “I’m in a relationship” and knew what you were really talking about. This statement now, is more or less associated with a Facebook or Twitter status message. But what’s different here is that the, “I’m single”, “in a complicated relationship” and the “I’m committed” are also status messages uploaded by the 12 and 13-year-olds!

“A couple of my friends are dating. They go out on weekends to the movies or to cafes. It’s not something new. A lot of these people go out together, and at times, a few from the class join the couple too,” says Raghu, who is in class 8. “I know that a lot of girls in my class tend to like boys who make them laugh or the guys who are good with gadgets,” he adds.
There are many kids who talk about their relationship with their parents and parents are finding it very hard to come to terms with this kind of fast-paced love life of their kids. “My daughter talks about ‘going out’ with her friend, who happens to be a guy. I had no clue that ‘going out’ doesn’t literally mean going ‘out’, till my daughter explained that it means that she likes the boy and that they are a couple,” says Grishma C., a mother (name changed).
Dating in school may not be something completely alien, but is slowly morphing into something that lacks ‘real emotions’, say teenagers. “I’ve heard my friend’s younger brother, who is in class seven, talk about girlfriends. It’s quite shocking, coming from someone who is so juvenile,” says Preeti K., a student.
“They seem to be already reeling under the pressure of ‘not having’ a girlfriend or a boyfriend. The biggest fear here being, ‘you are not cool’,” adds Preeti. Agrees engineering student Bhakthi .V, “I studied in a girls’ school, but I don’t think that would stop kids these days from dating. When we were in school, we had a lot of fun, but didn’t really find the need or feel the pressure to date. We didn’t have time for all this.”
She adds, “I really think their idea of ‘complicated’ is nothing complex. The ‘break-ups’ they have at 13 is just way too funny. Kids are too immature to be able to grasp such emotions completely. They just like talking too much. It’s all about the race to ‘belong’ to a particular category,” says Bhakthi.