Added: 10/31/2005 |
There is nothing quite as fundamental to the life of the typical teenage girl as the dating quiz. Every girl has taken one; most girls have taken hundreds. They are a mainstay of sleepovers and birthday parties the world over. They are posted in web logs, e-mailed to friends, and passed around the lunch table. Girls from 12 to 20 find entertainment and support in these simple multiple choice quizzes. At any given moment, there are thousands of websites available on the internet that feature the dating quiz, and there is one featured in almost every issue of every teen magazine on the market today.
One explanation for the prevalence of the dating quiz is the shear volume of topics that can be considered under the umbrella of a date quiz. Each one focuses on a different aspect of the relationship. Some focus on the potential relationship, for instance, quizzes that claim to be able to tell the date quiz taker if her crush is interested in her, or how desirable she is to men. Others focus on a relationship already in progress. These claim to gauge the compatibility of the lovers or how well you know your partner. Still others focus on the end of the relationship, answering questions like "Should you dump your man?" and "Is he cheating?" There is a dating quiz out there for every possible situation. Some even forgo talking about the relationship at all and instead focus on the quiz taker. They purport to be able to tell the girl what kind of lover she is, and how romantic she is.
The teenage girl who takes a dating quiz should be cautious with how seriously she interprets the results. Most teen dating quizzes have limited or no scientific basis. No research has been done to discover whether or not the quiz gives accurate results. Some even contain disclaimers pointing out that the quiz should be used for entertainment purposes. The quiz taker should be careful not to allow a perfectly good relationship to be damaged because of the results of a few teen dating quizzes. However, with that kept in mind there are several reasons why teen dating quizzes can be a good thing. For one, they cause teenage girls to think about and evaluate the relationships in which they are currently involved, or to think about the kind of relationship in which they would someday like to be involved.
By taking a dating quiz a teenage girl may recognize lack of communication, or discover the reason why she and her boyfriend have been fighting so much lately. Teen dating quizzes that focus on the quiz taker rather than the relationship may afford the teenage girl a level of introspection, and a deeper understanding of who she is as a person. If taken with other girls teen dating quizzes can open dialogues about relationships. The girls can then learn from each other, and abusive or dangerous behavior can be noticed and discussed before it gets out of hand.
Most importantly, though, a dating quiz is fun. It can bring a group of girls together by providing them with a low-key and relatively neutral activity, or simply give a girl something fun and non-stressful to do in between homework and bedtime.
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