Before I start talking about teen relationships, I feel like I need to make a clarification. Many people when they think of the word relationship, they automatically equate it with love or sexual relationship. According to the general definition of relationship, this is any connection between two or more elements and these elements can be anything from chemicals to human beings. So from this definition it is simple to deduce the meaning of this word applied to human beings. A teenage relationship can be any type of relationship.
- among adolescents of the same sex
- between teens of the opposite sex, such as dating relationships
- between adolescents and other people of the same or different sex and different ages.
The quality of these relationships can also vary, but there are two types of teen relationships that I am going to talk about here;
- teenage friendships and
- love relationships between teenagers
Teen friendships
This type of adolescent relationship will fit into the three categories above. It can exist between a teenager and other people of the same or different sex and age. A good friend, regardless of age or gender, is one of the best things you can have on this earth. A good friend who is special to you and means a lot to you. A person who is always there for you.
Many successful love relationships have started with friendship and this is probably the reason for their success. The better you know the other person, the better you will be with them and in a lasting love relationship, as a man and a woman, your appreciation for your partner as a friend will mean much more than anything else. If we look at it from the other extreme, it seems much more difficult to build a friendship from a love or sexual relationship. In fact, I have not heard of it, maybe I have, but the fact is that a good friendship is always good to have both as the basis of a future love relationship and as a friendship in itself.
A teenage friendship can exist between anyone regardless of gender, age, race, origin, or whatever. A 13-year-old girl and a 50-year-old man can have a great friendship, even for life, just like two teenagers of the same sex.
Love relationships between teenagers
While you can speak quite frankly and bluntly in a friendship, most of us are more aware of not hurting a partner in a loving relationship. This can evolve to a degree of lies and even no communication at all just to protect your partner.
There are also more mutual expectations in a love relationship and more intimate emotions are involved than in a good friendship. A teenage love relationship can be great and long-lasting, but if there is no foundation of friendship in it, the likelihood of maintaining it is significantly lower. There are some legally defined limitations on who can have a teenage love or sexual relationship. It is illegal for people over the age of 18 to have a sexual relationship with a minor, but it is definitely not illegal to have older friends.
A good friendship is one of the best gifts that God has given us in life and even if you marry the sweetest boy or girl in the world, neither of you will be happy if you are not good friends.
