the DART | Centerspread | February 10, 2023
Society’s view of teenage relationships has evolved and been influenced by the rapidly changing times. The media has altered the way teenagers meet and interact, impacting the experience of high school dating and Story By Mara Callahan l Editor-in-Chief, Maya Tule l Staff Writer and Kyra Fieger l Lifestyles Editor
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alking through her boyfriend’s apartment in Lawrence, Kansas, 2017 alumna Marin Brown stops short to pick up a picture frame—a throwback from her senior prom. Brown and her current boyfriend met through an “accidental” prom set-up: Brown had just gone through a breakup and her now-boyfriend had spent the week serving as a leader on his school’s Kairos retreat. Looking back on the photo with new-found relationship knowledge led Brown to reflect on the role teenage romance plays in our society and question the impacts media has on meeting people in 2023. “Social media has affected kids trying to meet people now,” Brown said. “I have a lot of sympathy for teens nowadays because it’s hard to meet someone organically. I have friends who are my age and want to date but feel like they have run out of options. We live in Kansas; 2 million people live here. There has to be someone you haven’t met before but they feel the only way people are looking for relationships is at bars or online.” Bishop Meige senior Stella Cahalan began her first and current relationship the summer before her junior year of high school. Cahalan was introduced to her boyfriend by mutual friends after he had caught her eye freshman year. Being in a long-term relationship offers Cahalan a new perspective specifically on the way teenage relationships have evolved with the ever-changing times. “There have been changes in the way people view teenage relationships over time,” Cahalan said. “Social media brings a new aspect into it all, especially in terms of getting to know people. I feel like there’s either a lot of this ‘friend of a friend’ — which was the scenario I was in — or meeting someone online. There are pros and cons to that because there have been positive relationships that have come out of online dating or meeting online, but it’s also harder to find someone you genuinely like because it poses the question, ‘Do you actually know them?’”
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I think that dating in high school can be beneficial because it gives people experience for more serious relationships down the road. Anonymous Rockhurst Senior
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CULTURE
One student at Rockhurst High School hasn’t been in any serious relationships during his time there but is exposed to many different perspectives from his peers. Almost all of his closest friends have had partners long-term, giving him a different insight into high school dating. “It can be pressuring to be in a relationship at times because of social media’s modern presence nowadays,” he said. “I think that dating in high school can be beneficial because it gives people experience for more serious relationships down the road, yet I also think people sometimes take high school relationships too seriously. They tend to focus too much on their relationship and miss the best portions of their own high school experiences.”
The influence of social media in today’s society has increased astronomically, affecting the ways people meet each other. For the Rockhurst High School student, it has created an easier way to communicate with others from different schools, opening up doors to opportunities and creating new relationships. “It is definitely easier to meet people because of social media,” he said. “I think going to an all-boys school can be difficult when trying to form relationships with anyone who I don’t see every day at Rockhurst.”