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[quote=Anonymous]I have taught high school for 15 years.  I also have a son.  I started noticing even in the years before the pandemic that dating was gradually becoming much less common than it had been at the beginning of my career or when I was in high school.  Part of this is the acceptance of experimentation outside of a relationship (“hookup” culture), and part is a general regression in overall maturity somehow.  There are many socially successful juniors and seniors who have never dated and don’t seem to have any drive to seek a partner in this way.

I think social media and technology are a big part of this.  Teens conduct so much of their friendships and social interaction from behind screens now.  In comparison to teens in the late 90s when I was in high school, kids today just don’t seem to crave time in the physical presence of their friends/peers.  I know when I was that age, my friend group was my world and we spent so much time hanging out and talking in each other’s rooms, coffee shops, parties and local music shows, etc, and while teens today do have friends, they aren’t spending that huge chunk of time physically with their friends outside of team/school activities, for the most part and in general.  Teens are tech savvy and I do believe their virtual socialisation arena is more nuanced and influential than we know and the effects of the change from physical to social interaction will become more and more pronounced.

I do also think that kids are less socially mature, with much weaker communication skills, due to this evolution.  They are less confident and certain speaking with adults and rely more on their parents to step in and handle interactions with teachers, etc, than was the case even 15 years ago when I began my career.  I don’t think these changes are positive.  I think kids are becoming more fragile and less capable of handling themselves in relationships of all kinds.

I’ve also read studies agreeing that teens today are having less sex and are having sex at later ages.  This aligns with what I see.  But I’ll take a controversial stance and say I see these statistics as the effects of deeper, more disturbing trends.

I hope my son finds a fulfilling relationship.  He’s had relationship-like experiences with a few girls.  But I worry for our kids overall.  I do not think things are moving in a good direction.[/quote]

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