Too young to know what real love is?

[Tiny Catastrophe]

So my mom and I were talking the other day and we were talking about one of my friends and how she lives with her boyfriend because her mom told her she had to choose between being with her boyfriend or living at home and she chose her boyfriend. My mom was saying people my age don't know what real love is and I totally disagree. I know people who have been together since they were my age (a few of my friends' parents) and are still together and in love. And I know I'm in love with my girlfriend and she is the only girl I ever want to be with and we plan to spend the rest of our lives together. So what do you guys think? Do you think that teenagers are too young to know what love is?

[BreeBree]

Well, there the teenagers who actually feel, and believe in the love they feel, and the teenagers who throw the word around like its nothing. It really depends on the two peopleand the situation. Basically, yes, I think its possible for those teenagers who really understand the meaning and importance of the world

[Owen]

I think it's possible for two teenagers to know what love is, but I think most don't. I think most of them are really thinking about infatuation when they say "love", and the two are very different beasts. Infatuations is emotional, physical, while love is more psychological, more cognitive. Infatuation is enjoyment of the present, which love is truly accepting a future where you two are together for a long time. Relationships based on infatuation don't last; relationships built on love do. But "I'm infatuated with him," just doesn't have the same ring to it, so I don't mind teens using "I'm in love with him."

The thing that makes it a tricky subject to talk about as a non-teen is that teenagers feel emotions, good and bad, way more strongly than adults do. That's a scientifically proven fact. It's hard for a parent to understand a teenager's reaction to feelings of infatuation because those feelings are far stronger than they are for the parent. I think the figure was five times, so teenagers' good days are five times better than adults', while their bad days are five times worse than adults'. Given that, is it any wonder that they rush to call their feelings of infatuation "love"? Their "puppy love" is five times stronger than ours; of course they want to use a strong word to describe it.

On another note, I think your friend's mother made a poor decision. The fact is that most teenage relationships don't last forever, and if (or when) that one ends, that girl is going to have nowhere to go (unless the mom lets her move back in, in which case I guess I could see it as making her learn her lesson the hard way).